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41 



PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES, 



THROUGH 



THE VALLEY OF THE MEUSE AND THE 
FOREST OF ARDENNES, 



IN THE YEAR 1844, 



£• 



NEW-YORK: 
Harper & Brothers, 82 Clipp-St. 

**V 1845. 





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Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year. 1845, by 

Harper & Brothers, 
In the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New- York. 



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" Toutes les institutions perissent s la royaute s'en va ; le monde 
politique s'agite dans des convulsions de mort ; au milieu de ce 
desordre moral, un fait immense survit encore; c'est la puissance 
du Catholicisme, puissance de mysteres, de pompes, de famille, 
d'arts, et de saintes memoires." — Capefigue. 



TO 



RICHARD K. HOFFMAN, M.D., 

A VALUED FRIEND, AN AFFECTIONATE PRECEPTOR, 
A LEARNED AND HONOURED PHYSICIAN, 



PREFACE. 



This small volume needs but little preface. 
Suffice it to say that, having, in the course of a 
European tour, pursued a route not often travel- 
led, and witnessed a ceremony yet more seldom 
seen, I have availed myself of some moments of 
leisure to give my notes their present form. 

This work is not written with a sectarian ob- 
ject. Touching so nearly on religious matters, 
I have carefully refrained from indulging in re- 
flections into which neither my age nor my 
knowledge qualify me to enter, and have rigid- 
ly confined myself to a narration of what pass- 
ed under my eyes. 

With regard to the remainder of the book, I 
at once acknowledge my indebtedness to vari- 
ous local works for many of the historical facts 
and details which I here introduce. These 
books being, without exception, written in the 
French or German languages, and many of 
them altogether unknown beyond the place of 
their publication, the materials which I have 
drawn from them may, perhaps, interest by 
their novelty. 

Of the ordinary class of guide-books I have, 
A 2 



8 PREFACE. 

in general, made no use, except as indices to 
more responsible sources of information. 

The task which I have prescribed to myself 
has not been a difficult one, yet it is not with- 
out diffidence that I offer its result to the public, 
and I would ask for all the indulgence which 
youth and a first attempt may claim. 

Charles Edward Anthon. 

Berlin, December 25th, 1844. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER .1. 

Aix-la-Chapelle. — Its Discovery and Restoration by Charlemagne. 
— His Residence there. — Erection and Consecration of the Ca- 
thedral. — The Emperor's Death, Burial, and Disinterment 

Page 13 

CHAPTER II. 

General appearance of the City. — Its Minster Church. — Relics 

and Treasures. — Rathhaus. — Frankenburg. — Mineral Springs 

22 

CHAPTER III. 

Belgian Railroads. — Chateau de Franchimont. — Description of 
Spa. — Its History. — Cascade of Coo. — Grotto of Remou- 
champs. — Chateau de Montjardin. — Chateau d' Ambleve. — 
Quatre Fils Aymon. — Inslenville ... . . .32 

CHAPTER IV. 

History of Liege. — Situation. — Churches. — Palace of the Prince- 
Bishops. — Quentin Durward. — University. — Gretry. — Excur- 
sion to Maestricht. — Subterranean Quarries . . .48 

CHAPTER V. 

Huy. — Nameche. — Tomb of Sybille de Lusignan. — Namur. — 
Fioreffe. — Dinant. — Bouvignes. — Three Ladies of Crevecoeur. — 
Freyr— Waulsort . . . . . . .60 

CHAPTER VI. 

Rochefort. — Trou de Hans. — St. Hubert. — General Description 
of the Ardennes. — Walloon People and Language . ... 76 



10 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Bouillon. — Dutch and Belgian Luxembourg.— Abbey of Orval.— 
City of Luxembourg. — The Moselle. — Monument of Igel. — Pro- 
cessions.— Treves . . . . . . . Page 87 

CHAPTER VIII. 

History of the Robe of Jesus Christ, preserved in the Cathedral 
at Treves . 100 

CHAPTER IX. 

Cathedral of Treves.— -Exposition of the Holy Robe. — Letter of 
Johannes Ronge 107 

CHAPTER X. 

Codex Aureus. — Liebfrauenkirche.— Roman Monuments of Treves. 
— Porta Nigra. — Amphitheatre. — Roman Baths. — Palace of 
Constantine . . . . 118 



Spa, October 27th, 1844. 

Dear F , 

Having resolved to attempt- the production 
of a book, I have returned to this place, which 
is, for several reasons, very favourable to my 
purpose ; first, because, being situated in the 
country, and among the mountains, it is a pleas- 
ant place to live in ; secondly, because it is a 
fashionable watering-place, which is deserted at 
this season of the year, so that I have excellent 
accommodations, with nothing to distract my at- 
tention from my labour ; and, thirdly, because 
it is in the vicinity of Liege and Brussels, from 
which cities I can obtain all the books of which 
I stand in need. To these reasons I might add 
a dozen others, but I suppose that you will think 
these quite sufficient. The plan I have formed 
is this : In the first place, the title, which is al- 
ways a matter of some consequence, is to be 
" A Pilgrimage to Treves, through the Valley 
of the Me use and the Forest of Ardennes." 

I commence with Aix-la-Chapelle, which, be- 
ing the old imperial city of Charlemagne, and 
containing many relics of him, will, if well de- 
scribed, make a very interesting chapter. From 
Aix-la-Chapelle to Liege, by way of Spa, is an 
interesting route, which I followed, and the Val- 
ley of the Meuse, from Liege to Dinant, com- 
bines, with all that is charming in scenery, his- 
torical associations of the finest character, 



12 

From Dinant to Luxembourg, the road I fol- 
lowed traverses the very heart of the Ardennes, 
a peculiarly wild and savage country. The pil- 
grimage to Treves will be the end of the jour- 
ney and of the book. I have already written 
an account of it in one of my letters ; but you 
will have a better idea of the interest taken in 
this curious ceremony, and, consequently, of its 
importance, from the simple fact that, during the 
seven weeks of its duration, no less than half a 
million of persons visited the city. This ancient 
place contains also some very remarkable Ro- 
man monuments quite worthy of record. * . * # * 
I think that I have selected a subject and a 
route which have, at least, the merit of being 
altogether unhackneyed. Another merit I can 
claim to myself, in relation to the legendary lore, 
is that of being a conscientious writer ; for I as- 
sure you that, before I write one page, I fre- 
quently read a hundred. After all this herald- 
ing, you will, perhaps, be much disappointed 
when you come to read my manuscript ; and, to 
tell the truth, I am often mortified, on examining 
it, to find what insipid stuff I have perpetrated. 
However, time will show ; and when I send you 
what I have written, I will give you full power 
to publish it or not, as you may think best ; for 
I consider it much better not to attempt the 
character of an author than to have that of a bad 
one. 



A PILGRIMAGE, &c. 



CHAPTER I. 



Aix-la-Chapelle. — Its Discovery and Restoration by Charlemagne. 
—His Residence there. — Erection and Consecration of the Ca- 
thedral. — The Emperor's Death, Burial, and Disinterment. 

The Emperor Charlemagne delighted in the 
chase. Attended by his nobles, he often pursued 
the stag and the wild boar through the deep for- 
ests of the Meuse and the Rhine. As he was one 
day engaged in his favourite pastime, he lost sight 
of his companions, and, wandering at hazard, came 
to a spot where walls in ruin, and overgrown with 
briers, attracted his curiosity. Examining them 
with attention, he traced the remains of Roman 
baths, and discovered the springs which had once 
fed them. The water was reeking- hot as it issued 
from the ground, and it exhaled a sulphurous odour. 

The beauty of the place excited his admiration. 
Masses of building stood hard by, crumbling in 
decay, but still preserving an air of majesty which 
showed that, though long since fallen from their 
fair estate, they had once been the favourite abode 
of pleasure or of power. From the miserable in- 
habitants who yet lingered about the ruins he learn- 
ed that the place was called, in Gallic Latin, Aquis 
Granum, the waters of Gramis, or Apollo, whose 

B 



14 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

divine influence the Romans had recognised in its 
health-restoring fountains. By command of Char- 
lemagne, the rubbish which encumbered the ground 
and choked up the health-giving springs was re- 
moved, and the ancient palace which had adorn- 
ed their neighbourhood was reconstructed in all 
its former magnificence. 

Hither he came from time to time, as the fa- 
tigues of conquest or the cares of government al- 
lowed him respite, to indulge in his darling recre- 
ation with the most favoured of his nobility. Here, 
also, he held, with great pomp and splendour, his 
royal hunting-parties. A Saxon poet describes one 
of them in such glowing colours, and in a manner 
so characteristic of the times, that I cannot resist 
its introduction here. 

" It is in these forests that Charlemagne is in the 
habit of giving himself up to the agreeable diver- 
sions of the country ; there he urges his hounds in 
the pursuit of savage beasts, and under the shadow 
of the wood strikes down the stag with arrows. 
At sunrise the young men cherished by the king 
rush towards the forest, and the noble lords are al- 
ready assembled before the palace-gate. The air is 
troubled by the loud uproar, which rises even to 
the gilded, roof of the palace; cry answers cry, 
steed neighs to steed, the running footmen call one 
another, and the servant attached to his master's 
steps ranges himself in his train. Covered with 
gold and precious metals, the horse which is to carry 
the emperor seems all joyous and tosses his head 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 15 

impetuously, as if to demand liberty to run at will 
over the fields and mountains. Some of the youths 
carry spears pointed with iron, and nets made of a 
quadruple cloth of flax. Others lead, attached by 
the collar, the panting hounds and the furious mas- 
tiffs. At last the king — Charles himself — comes 
forth ; his head is encircled with a brilliant diadem 
of gold, his face shines with a supernatural splendour, 
and his stature by far exceeds that of all who sur- 
round him; after him advance the most elevated 
in honour and dignity among the dukes and counts. 
The gates of the city open, the horns re-echo far 
and wide through the air, and the young men set 
out at full gallop. The queen herself, the fair Lu- 
itgardis, quitting at length her splendid couch, ad- 
vances in the middle of the crowd which accom- 
panies her. Her neck shines with the roseate col- 
our with which she has tinged it, her hair is con- 
fined by the bands of purple which encircle her 
temples, threads of gold fasten her mantle, and a 
richly-adorned turban surrounds her head. She 
shines with all the pomp of her golden diadem and 
her purple robes, while her neck is adorned with 
precious stones. Her cherished maidens encom- 
pass her in a troop, and her proud steed bounds be- 
neath her. The rest of the young men are wait- 
ing without for the children of the king. At length 
Charles is seen approaching, like his father in 
name, in face, in manners : then comes Pepin, his 
temples crowned with a shining metal, mounted 
on a fiery charger, in the midst of a numerous es- 



16 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

cort; the council follow his steps, the horns send 
out their flourishes, whose sounds reach the stars. 
Then come the daughters of the king : Rotrudis 
walks first, her locks entwined with bands of ame- 
thyst, disposed without symmetry, for her crown 
surrounds her brow with the riches which adorn 
it, and a golden wire also attaches her beautiful 
veil. Bertha follows in the midst of her maid- 
ens ; her voice, her bearing, her mien, her face, 
everything about. her, is like her father; her head 
bears a magnificent diadem, threads of gold are 
twined among her hair, her neck is surrounded with 
rare and precious furs, her garments are- surchar- 
ged with pearls, and even her sleeves are covered 
with brilliants. After her comes Gisela, brilliant 
in modesty, in the centre of a company of young 
virgins ; her robe is dyed with the mallow, and 
her veil is ornamented with shining threads of pur- 
ple. Adelaide, who follows, is all sparkling with 
the rich jewels which cover her; a mantle of silk 
hangs from her shoulders, her head is decked with 
a crown of pearls, and a golden clasp, also cover- 
ed with pearls, confines her cloak ; her fiery horse 
bears her into the secret haunts where the stags re- 
treat. See also approach the fair Theodrada ; gold 
confines her hair, a collar of emeralds shines around 
her neck, her foot is covered with the buskin of 
Sophocles. Last comes Hilrudis ; chance has as- 
signed her this place at the end of the troop. All 
are at length assembled. The dogs are let loose ; 
the cavaliers surround the forest ; the boar is roused ; 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 17 

the hunters enter the wood. Charles rushes upon 
the boar as he is hard pressed by the hounds, and 
plunges his sword into his body. 'Meanwhile, his 
children, placed on a high hill, are observing the 
spectacle. Charles orders the chase to be renew- 
ed, and a great number of boars are slain. At 
length they gain a part of the wood where tents 
and fountains have been prepared on the spur of 
the moment, and there Charles, assembling the old 
men and the men of ripe age, the youths and the 
chaste young virgins, places them at table, ordering 
the Falernian to be poured out in plentiful streams. 
Meanwhile the sun vanishes, and night covers the 
whole globe with her shade."* 

It was not, however, only as a resort of pleas- 
ure that Charlemagne loved this place. His hours 
of toil were also often spent here. From his pal- 
ace at Aix, as it was now called by a contraction 
of its original name, he published the edicts which 
governed Spain and Italy, Germany and France. 
He here concerted with the papal legates the vast 
plan whose development was to combine the Unity 
of the Church with the Unity of Empire. From 
these Northern forests he sent to Rome the beams 
and other rude materials which the pontiffs requi- 
red for their religious edifices, and obtained works 
of art in return, which Italy could well spare from 

* This picturesque description of a hunt, originally written in 
Latin by the old chronicler, called the Saxon poet (Poeta Saxo), 
is translated from the French version given in M. Capefigue's 
" Charlemagne." 

B2 



18 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

her abundant store. The Greek emperors did not 
disdain to send ambassadors to their brother of the 
West, though he governed the barbarous nation of 
the Franks. These rude soldiers, with all their 
contempt for the effeminate and unwarlike habits 
of the Greeks, were struck with wonder at their 
advanced civilization. An organ, which they had 
brought with them to Aix, particularly excited the 
admiration of their hosts. 

As the fame of Charlemagne spread yet farther 
to the East, envoys from the Caliph Haroun al Ras- 
chid came to implore his friendship. It was to 
Aix that they carried those rich and curious gifts of 
which History speaks, an elephant, monkeys, balm, 
spikenard, divers essences, drugs of all kinds, but, 
most wonderful of all, an ivory clock, with twelve 
doors on its dial, giving passage to balls which fell 
on drums of brass to strike the hour ; each door 
then remaining open till the twelfth hour, when 
twelve little horsemen sallied out together, made 
the tour of the dial, and shut them all. Charle- 
magne" took these envoys with him into the Ar- 
dennes, that they might see him hunt the auroch, 
a kind of bull which then infested that forest ; but 
at the sight of those immense animals, they were 
seized with a horrible fear, and betook themselves 
to flight. 

Meanwhile, the emperor had commenced at Aix 
the erection of a Cathedral which should be wor- 
thy of his favourite city. All the wealth, all the 
skill at his command, were devoted to this pur- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 19 

pose, and the pope sent mosaics and porphyry 
columns from beyond the Alps for its decoration. 
After eight years of labour it was 'finished, and it 
was determined to celebrate its consecration by an 
imposing ceremony. The sovereign pontiff, Leo 
the Third, presided at the dedication, assisted by 
three hundred and sixty-five archbishops and bish- 
ops, in allusion to the days of the year. Tradition 
says that, at the critical moment, two were found 
to be wanting, whereupon two dead bishops of 
Tongres quitted their graves at Maestricht, and 
took part in the festival with great joy, after which 
they disappeared. The name " Chapelle" was giv- 
en to the edifice, a term derived from the " Chape," 
or cope of St. Martin, and which had been used 
to designate the oratories of the Frankish kings ; 
and the city itself, now advanced to the dignity 
of Capital of the Empire north of the Alps, was 
in future called Aix-la-Chapelle, or Aix of the 
Chapel. 

As the emperor advanced in age, he made Aix- 
la-Chapelle his permanent residence. The rheu- 
matic pains to which he now became subject, caus- 
ed probably by his early devotion to the chase, 
were relieved by its warm springs. The basins in 
which the sulphureous waters were collected were 
of such size that more than a hundred persons 
could not only bathe, but swim in them without 
meeting each other, and in these it is said that he 
was wont to pass entire days. 

The last autumn of his life Charlemagne hunt- 



20 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

ed, as usual, in the environs of Aix. Returning to 
his palace there, he died shortly afterward in the 
year 814, the seventy-second of his age. He had, 
during his life, caused his tomb to be prepared in 
the centre of the chapel which he had built, and 
there his body was placed, embalmed, clothed in 
the imperial garments, and seated on a throne of 
marble covered with plates of gold. His sword 
was by his side, with the pilgrim's wallet which he 
had always carried in his journeys to Rome, and 
the book of the Gospels was laid upon his knees. 
The vault was filled with treasures, with odours, 
and with precious spices. 

Charlemagne died, and his work perished with 
him. The empire which he had founded with 
such toil crumbled into fragments. The barbari- 
ans of the North braved his feeble successors. 
The fierce Normans penetrated even to his capi- 
tal, destroyed the palace, and plundered the sacred 
edifice in which he had taken such pride. From 
ignorance, perhaps from respect, they did not vio- 
late his tomb. 

The Emperor Otho the Third restored the chap- 
el, and, after long search, discovered the vault 
where the remains of its founder had been placed. 
On opening it, the form of the dead Caesar was re- 
vealed sitting on the throne, and covered with the 
imperial ornaments as when he lived, one hundred 
and eighty-six years before. By command of Otho, 
the throne, the crown, the sceptre, the globe, the 
sword, and the book of the Gospels, were re- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 21 

moved, and have since been used at the coronation 
of the German emperors. The tomb was again 
closed. 

Frederic Barbarossa caused the vault to be once 
more opened, but with a different object. Charle- 
magne had now been canonized, and his remains 
were regarded as relics, and suffered the penalty 
of canonization. The dry bones were exhumed, 
and placed at first in an antique sarcophagus of 
Parian marble, still shown in the Cathedral, on 
which is sculptured the Rape of Proserpina : a sin- 
gular receptacle, truly, for the bones of a saint ! 
They were afterward separated from one another, 
placed in rich caskets, and dispersed in various 
quarters, to be gazed on by the devout. 

For many centuries the emperors were crowned 
at Aix-la-Chapelle. The last coronation which 
took place there was that of Ferdinand I., brother 
and successor of Charles the Fifth. The ceremony 
was afterward performed at Frankfurt on the Mayn. 



22 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 



CHAPTER II. 

General appearance of the City. — Its Minster Church.— Relics 
and Treasures. — Rathhaus. — Frankenburg. — Mineral Springs. 

There are cities which, having been the scene 
of some great drama, derive from that cause a pe- 
culiar impress which they ever afterward preserve. 
In spite of years and the changes which they bring, 
the period of their greatness seems always present, 
so deeply is its remembrance engraved on the minds 
of men. Such is Aix-la-Chapelle, still .the Rome 
of the North, as it was a thousand years ago. 
Time has dealt hardly with the ancient city. The 
Normans, as I have already said, ravaged it and de- 
stroyed the imperial palace. Desolated on various 
occasions by war and pestilence, seven eighths of it 
were reduced to ashes by an accidental conflagra- 
tion in the year 1656, an overwhelming calamity, 
which cast into the shade several minor accidents 
of the same nature. Its general aspect is therefore 
completely modern, and the gay crowds which 
press, during half the year, around its mineral 
springs, would destroy all recollection of the past, 
did we not know that these fountains are the same 
which Charlemagne discovered, and in which he 
delighted to bathe his strong limbs ; that this edi- 
fice hard by, in front of which the peasant stops 
short to gaze upon its blackened walls and strange 
architecture, is the chapel which he founded, and 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 23 

of which he himself is said to have designed the 
plan. 

The Cathedral, or Miinsterkirche of Aix, as it 
now exists, is composed of two parts, of different 
styles and ages. The central portion is the Car- 
lovingian " Chapelle," which, though a thousand 
years have rolled over it, and left traces of their 
passage, still retains most of its original form. It 
is of an octagonal shape, and covered with a dome : 
the round arch everywhere prevails, for it was built 
long before the introduction of the Gothic : it is in 
the later Roman or Byzantine style. On the west- 
ern side it is connected with a tower, the union be- 
tween the upper portions of the two structures be- 
ing effected by a sort of aerial bridge. The rest 
of the Cathedral is of more modern date, and con- 
sists of a choir in a very bold and striking style of 
Gothic, added in the latter half of the fourteenth 
century. Around these principal masses are group- 
ed several small chapels, and a host of mean sheds 
used as shops, together with some grotesque little 
houses curiously nestled between the buttresses of 
the choir, which, while they detract from the mag- 
nificence, add to the picturesque effect of the whole. 
The doors of the great entrance are of bronze. 
On the left hand stands a pine cone, and on the 
right a she wolf of the same metal. A curious 
tradition is attached to the figures. The magis- 
trates of the city, it is said, were one day deliber- 
ating on the means of procuring funds for the com- 
pletion of the Cathedral, when an individual of re- 



24 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

spectable appearance entered, and promised to fur- 
nish the necessary sum on condition that they should 
deliver up to him the first person who entered the 
church after it was finished. By this offer, the ma- 
gistrates were aware that they had to do with Sa- 
tan ; but, under the pressure of circumstances, 
they nevertheless entered into the proposed en- 
gagement, and the money was counted out. When 
the edifice was finished, and it became necessary 
to open it to the public, their embarrassment was 
extreme. They had long been discussing the mat- 
ter, when they were told that one of the game- 
keepers of the city had just brought in a live wolf 
which he had taken in a trap. "Heaven sends us 
help," they exclaimed, with one voice ; " the wolf 
shall be the victim." It was done. The moment 
the doors were opened, the wolf was driven into 
the church, and the devil, outwitted, had to content 
himself with a wolf instead of a human soul. The 
soul of the wolf — how, it is difficult to divine — is 
said to be represented by the " pine cone." 

A certain gloom prevails through the interior of 
the. Cathedral, which is favourable, to the serious 
thoughts that the spot naturally excites. 

Beneath the centre of the dome is the tomb of 
Charlemagne, now tenantless, covered with a large 
stone slab on a level with the pavement, inlaid 
with bronze, and bearing, in letters of the same 
metal, the inscription 

CAROLO MAGNO. 
Above it hangs from the roof a chandelier of sil- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 25 

ver and gilded copper, presented by Frederic Bar- 
barossa. 

The gallery which surrounds the upper portion 
of the chapel was originally adorned by columns 
of porphyry, said to have been taken from the 
Greek exarch's palace at Ravenna. These were 
carried to Paris by the French, and, when resto- 
red, some were missing. Their number having 
been made complete by the munificence of the 
King of Prussia, they were being replaced at the 
time of my visit. " In this gallery stands the marble 
throne on which the body of Charlemagne rested 
in the tomb, and which was afterward used at the 
coronations of the German emperors. It was not 
without reluctance, and a feeling as if I were com- 
mitting a sacrilegious act, that I followed the in- 
vitation of my guide to place myself upon it. It 
is composed of plain slabs of white marble, which 
were covered during the coronations with plates of 
gold, embossed with figures, which are still pre- 
served in the sacristy. 

The interior of the choir, which opens from the 
dome, though it does not harmonize with the more 
ancient part of the building, is in itself magnifi- 
cent by the boldness and lightness of its construc- 
tion. It is 80 feet long, and 114 feet high; its 
tall windows reach to the very roof, and there is 
so little interval between them, that the ponderous 
vault seems to rest upon their frail support. 

On the right of the choir is the sacristy, which 
contains relics of saints whose value will be dif* 

C 



26 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

ferently estimated by different persons. These are 
contained in shrines and reliquaries, which all will 
acknowledge to be of inestimable price, on account 
of the beauty of their designs, the richness of their 
materials, their great antiquity, and the names of 
those who have presented them to the Cathedral. 

The relics are divided into two classes, the great 
and the little. The first, or " Grossen Reliquien," 
are shown to the people once in seven years ; in 
the interval they are only exhibited to crowned 
heads. The " Kleinen Reliquien," or little relics, 
are not so sacred, and a fee to the sacristan procures 
a view of them to all, whether orthodox or heretic. 
The names of these relics would perhaps excite 
derision ; perhaps " make the judicious grieve." 
In either case, I prefer to confine myself to the 
precious works of mediseval art in which they are 
contained, and to the other curiosities, of unques- 
tionable authenticity, which the Cathedral-treasure 
boasts. The relics, indeed, have an historical inte- 
rest for those to whom they possess no other, since 
they were presented to Charlemagne by the Patri- 
arch of Jerusalem, by the Emperor of Constanti- 
nople, and by Haroun-al-Raschid. 

Those of Charlemagne himself are undoubtedly 
authentic. They consist of his scull, apparently 
of immense size, though it is impossible to judge 
with accuracy, as only a small portion of it can be 
seen through its rich case ; the bones of one of his 
arms, enclosed in a casket of silver-gilt, given by 
Louis XI, of France ; and a tibia, or bone of the 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 27 

leg. The emperor's hunting-horn, made of an ele- 
phant's tusk curiously carved, attached to a belt of 
crimson velvet, bearing the motto " Mein Ein," 
"mine and the only one" embroidered in gold, is 
also shown, together with a fragment of the true 
cross, enclosed in a golden casket, which he con- 
stantly wore round his neck. 

When the priest opened the cabinet that con- 
tained the other relics, the display of riches was 
dazzling. The doors of this cabinet are covered 
with ancient and well-executed paintings, attrib- 
uted to Albert Durer. The "Grossen Reliquien" 
are contained in a reliquary of silver-gilt, of- great 
size, incrusted with gems, and formed on the model 
of a Gothic Cathedral. This was a gift from the 
Emperor Otho the Third. In another of smaller 
size, given by Frederic Barbarossa, the remains of 
Charlemagne were at one time placed. The most 
ancient of these works of art is a golden cross, 
two feet in height, given by the Emperor Lothaire. 
This is covered with engraved stones, and has in 
the centre of it an antique cameo, representing 
Augustus. Here, too, as I have already said, are 
the plates of gold which covered the marble throne. 
There is also in this rich cabinet an ostensoir, the 
opening in which, where the host is placed, is sur- 
rounded by a gorgeous star of rose-diamonds. I 
Vainly endeavoured to obtain a catalogue of all these 
treasures, and in describing them have to trust to 
memory, aided by such meager notices as I have 
been able to find. I only remember particularly 



28 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

two other works which are of more modern date : 
one, a beautiful shrine of silver-gilt, given by 
Charles the Fifth, and the other its pendant, but 
still more magnificent, said to be imitated from the 
Cathedral of Milan, and a present from Philip the 
Second of Spain. All these objects were trans- 
ported to Munich during the French Revolution, 
and, having thus escaped the destructive fury of 
that era, form a collection which I should imagine 
to be altogether unequalled in its kind. 

Leaving the Miinsterkirche, I strolled about the 
city, now deserted by its gay visiters, and soon 
found myself in front of the Hotel-de-Ville, or 
Rathhaus, which occupies the highest ground in 
Aix-la-Chapelle. It is an ancient building, having 
been erected in 1353, the same year as the choir 
of the Cathedral. Its appearance is majestic, and 
the strange Oriental style of its towers gives it a 
peculiar effect. One of these is said to be partly 
of Roman construction, and the whole edifice oc- 
cupies the site of the palace which the Normans 
destroyed. 

This building is also remarkable for having been 
the scene of the two most recent of the three dip- 
lomatic conferences by which Aix-la-Chapelle has 
been distinguished. The first of these happened 
in 1668, when ambassadors from the principal Eu- 
ropean nations met here to effect an accommoda- 
tion between France and Spain, which was con- 
cluded in the same year. The second convention 
took place in 1748, in which again most of the 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 29 

states of Europe participated ; and in 1818 oc- 
curred the celebrated Congress by which was ar- 
ranged the general pacification ©f Europe, after 
the wars of the French Revolution. On this occa- 
sion there were assembled here the emperors of 
Russia and Austria, the King of Prussia, the Duke 
of "Wellington, Prince Metternich, and a vast num- 
ber of other noble and illustrious persons. 

In the market-place before the Rathhaus is a 
fountain, ornamented by a bronze statue of Char- 
lemagne, which was cast more than five hundred 
years after his death, and hardly reproduces that 
physical conformation, if the chroniclers give us a 
true description. 

" He was a man of large frame and tall stature ; 
he was seven feet in height by the measure of his 
foot ; his head was round, his eyes large and pro- 
jecting, and so clear that when he was enraged 
they shone like carbuncles ; his nose was large and 
straight, and rather high in the middle ; his hair 
brown, his face red, lively, and cheerful ; he pos- 
sessed such strength that he straightened with ease 
three horse-shoes all together, and raised an armed 
knight on his palm from the ground breast-high ; 
with his sword Joyeuse he cleft a knight in ar- 
mour ; in every limb he was well proportioned ; 
he was six spans around his waist, without inclu- 
ding the buckle of his belt." # 

The measurement here given makes Charle- 
magne very tall, and of gigantic members, partic- 
* Chronique de St. Denis, in Capefigue's " Charlemagne." 
C 2 



30 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

ularly if, as was probably the case, he inherited 
from his mother Bertha, besides her majestic fig- 
ure, a peculiarity from which she derives, in the old 
romances, the title of " Berthe aus grans pies." 

These two buildings, the Cathedral and the Rath- 
haus, with its fountain, are the only edifices within 
the city with which reminiscences of the great Em- 
peror of the Franks are connected. Beyond the 
walls, however, stands the Castle of Frankenburg, 
a spot on which History and Fiction combine to be- 
stow an interest. In this castle, or, rather, in that 
which heretofore occupied its site (for hardly any of 
the original structure is supposed to remain), Char- 
lemagne long resided, and here he mourned the 
loss of his wife Fastrada, with such bitter grief 
that his courtiers dreaded its effect upon his reason. 

A romantic tale ascribes the love which he bore 
the empress to a magic ring which she wore. Tur- 
pin the Wise, having discovered this, removed it 
from her finger, upon which the emperor's affec- 
tion was immediately transferred to him, till Tur- 
pin, finding the weight of honours with which 
he was incontinently loaded rather burdensome, 
threw the ring into the lake which lies at the foot 
of the rock on which the castle is built. Charle- 
magne, as the legend runs, forthwith conceived a 
most extraordinary predilection for this spot ; and 
to the influence of the ring was owing, according 
to the romance, the fondness with which he regard- 
ed Aix-la-Chapelle, and which induced him to 
make it his capital. 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 31 

. I shall conclude this chapter with a few words 
on the mineral springs of Aix, or, as it is called in 
German, Aachen. These springs, of which the ad- 
joining city itself possesses six, exclusive of those 
in the town of Borcette, are said to contain a larger 
proportion of sulphur than any others known in 
Europe. The principal one, which bears the name 
of " Kaiserquelle," or "the Emperor's Spring," has 
a temperature of 134°. The water is conducted 
from it to a structure called " Fontaine Elise," or 
" Elisenbrunnen," in honour of the present Queen 
of Prussia. This edifice consists of a Doric colon- 
nade, with a semicircular projection in the centre, 
beneath which the water falls into a marble basin. 
Above it is a bust of the queen by the sculptor 
Tieck. 

Grouped around this fountain and the various 
others are the buildings which are generally seen 
at a watering-place, a great number of hotels and 
bath-houses, a handsome theatre, and a "Redoute," 
as it is called, where balls and concerts are given, 
and gambling carried on under the protection of 
the government ! 

On all these objects, which constitute the modern 
attractions of Aix, I cast but a passing glance. 
My thoughts were with the past. 



32 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 



CHAPTER III. 

Belgian Railroads. — Chateau de Franchimont. — Description of 
Spa. — Its History. — Cascade of Coo. — Grotto of Remou 
champs. — Chateau de Montjardin. — Chateau d' Ambleve. — 
Quatre Fils Aymon. — Inslenville. 

On the 17th of August I left Aix-la-Chapelle for 
Spa. The railway on which I journeyed, having 
ascended an inclined plane of 3500 metres* in 
length, traverses the valley of the Greiile, on a 
magnificent viaduct, which presents a double range 
of lofty arches, one above the other. But it is on 
the Belgian side of the frontier that the greatest 
difficulties in the construction of the road have 
been successfully encountered. After passing on 
the left a crumbling pile of ruinous walls and 
dwellings, which once was Limbourg, capital of 
the duchy of the same name, but now united to 
the province of Liege, we descend into the valley 
of the Vesdre. Here steep precipices, half con- 
cealed by foliage, alternate at every instant with 
meadows and level fields. This disposition of 
natural beauties is very captivating to an artist, but 
not sO to an engineer, except as affording an op- 
portunity for the display of his skill. In fact, the 
section of railway between Liege and the Prussian 
frontier has been the most expensive and difficult 

* A metre is 39-371 English inches. 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 33 

to construct of all the iron roads which cover Bel- 
gium like a network. 

The Belgians are justly proud of their railroads, 
and they claim the honour of having been the first 
of European nations to establish in this way a com- 
plete system of internal communication. Of the 
nine provinces which compose the kingdom, there 
is but one, Luxembourg, which is not thus consoli- 
dated with the rest. 

It must be acknowledged, however, that in gen- 
eral the country afforded singular facilities for their 
construction. In the level plains of East and West 
Flanders, scarcely anything more was required 
than to lay the rails upon the ground. Thus, if 
we take the centre line of road from Ostend to 
Cologne, the difference of level from Ostend to 
Mechlin, which is the central point of the Belgian 
system, is but 6 metres in a distance of 25^ leagues 
of 5000 metres each. From Mechlin the ascent 
is continual and uninterrupted to the station of 
Ans, which is 166 metres above the level of Mech- 
lin. The distance between these two stations is 
17£ leagues. Here the road suddenly descends by 
two inclined planes into the valley of the Meuse, 
and arrives at the station of Liege, which is 109 
metres below the level of Ans, and exactly at the 
same level as Cologne. From Liege the road con- 
stantly ascends along the valley of the Vesdre to 
the Prussian frontier, a distance of 9 leagues, 
where, exactly on the line between Belgium and 
Prussia, is the highest point of the road, 253 me- 



34 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

tres above the level of the sea, Ostend being 5, 
and Cologne 68 metres above that level. From 
this highest point the descent is uninterrupted to 
Cologne. 

From the frontier to Liege the road traverses 
no less than 18 tunnels, and crosses the Vesdre 19 
times. 

The bridges and viaducts are of a character 
truly monumental ; fine hewn stone is the only- 
material that has been used. They form a series 
of public works of which any nation might be 
proud, and are certainly highly creditable to this 
little kingdom of four million inhabitants. ' In Bel- 
gium the government retains the entire charge of 
both the construction and the management of the 
railroads, a system preferable in many points of 
view to that of surrendering them to speculative 
companies, which prevails in England and the 
United States. 

After Limbourg I passed the busy town of Ver- 
viers, whose cloth factories were estimated in 1833 
to employ no less than 40,000 operatives, but are 
now in rather a declining state, from the want of a 
sufficient market. 

From the station of Pepinster,* where theHoigne 
flows into the Vesdre, a cross-road leads to Spa, 
passing through a profound ravine, till, after trav- 
ersing the village of Theux, it reaches a basin 

* The termination " ter," which signifies " habitation," would 
seem to indicate that this place had been the residence of one of 
the Pepins. 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 35 

among the hills, where the Wayai, the little mount- 
ain-stream which flows through Spa, unites its 
waters with those of the Hoigne. At the very 
point where they meet stands the castle of Fran- 
chimont, a vast construction, supposed to have been 
raised by the Franks. 

The summit of a hill, which rises almost in the 
centre of the basin, has been converted into a spa- 
cious platform, whose precipitous sides, formed of 
immense masses ^of masonry, rise to the height of 
50 or 60 feet. The ruins of the castle stand on 
this surface. The walls, rudely constructed of 
small unhewn stones, are in some places 16 feet in 
thickness. The platform beneath is pierced in 
every direction with subterranean passages, choked 
up, for the most part, by the rubbish which has fall- 
en from above. 

Franchimont is a sacred name in the annals of 
freedom, on account of the heroic devotion of a 
little band of her sons, who sacrificed themselves 
in a desperate struggle against tyranny. 

In the year 1468, when Charles the Bold of 
Burgundy, and Louis the Eleventh of France, be- 
sieged Liege with an army of 40,000 men, the city, 
whose walls Charles had razed to the ground the 
year before, whose nobles and knights had all per- 
ished in battle, was soon reduced to the greatest 
distress. Six hundred brave men of Franchimont 
formed almost the whole garrison. These, seeing 
the fate which impended over the town, undertook 
a daring enterprise. They penetrated by night to 



36 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

the very centre of the besiegers' camp, with the 
hope of killing or making prisoners the Duke and 
the King of France, and had almost succeeded in 
their bold attempt, when the alarm was given, and 
they were surrounded and slaughtered to a man. 
The next day the hostile troops entered the city 
without encountering any resistance, and the Duke 
of Burgundy afterward laid waste the marquisate 
of Franchimont with fire and sword. Sir Walter 
Scott has availed himself of this intrepid action of 
the Franchimonters to produce the denouement of 
Quentin Durward. 

After passing Franchimont the road enters Spa 
by a noble avenue, nearly two miles long, shaded 
by a quadruple range of trees. This pretty vil- 
lage was, during the last century, probably the 
most celebrated watering-place in Europe, and 
still attracts, during the summer months, a large 
concourse of visiters* by the fame of its mineral 
springs, the water of which contains a large pro- 
portion of iron. Being, at the same time, highly 
charged with carbonic acid gas, it is not disagree- 
ble to the taste. 

The principal mineral spring of Spa, situated in 
the centre of the town, is called the " Pouhon," a 
word supposed to be derived from " Pouhir," 
which, in the dialect of Liege, has the same sig- 
nification as the French " puiser," " to draw wa- 
ter." It is covered by a heavy colonnade, where 

* The official list of visiters at Spa for the season of 1844 
amounted to 4958, of whom 952 were English, and 19 Americans. 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 37 

a pompous Latin inscription attests that Peter the 
First, by the grace of God Emperor of the Rus- 
sians, Pious, Fortunate, Invincible, drank the wa- 
ters of Spa in the year 1717, and owed to them, 
particularly to the fountain of Geronstere, his re- 
newed health and vigour. 

The Geronstere is situated out of the town, at 
the distance of a league from the Pouhon. At 
about the same distance, in another direction, is the 
Sauveniere. These are the three principal fount- 
ains. There are others in the neighbourhood, but 
they are either altogether abandoned or but little 
frequented. 

The Sauveniere is situated near a wood, where 
walks are tastefully laid out. These were con- 
structed in 1787 by the children of the Duchess of 
Orleans for the amusement of their mother, who 
recovered her health by the use of the waters. 
One of these children was the Due de Chartres, 
now Louis Philippe, King of the French, by whose 
orders a monument has recently been erected here, 
bearing the following beautiful inscription : 
A LA RECONNAISSANCE. 

Au mois d'Avril, 1787, les eaux de la Sauve- 
niere ayant retabli la sante de Madame la Duchesse 
d'Orleans ; ses enfants ont voulu consacrer le sou- 
venir d'un evenement si cher a leurs coeurs, en eri- 
geant ce monument au bout du bois dont ils avaient 
eux-memes trace et fait les allees pour la prom- 
enade de leur mere cherie. 



E 



38 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

Ce monument, detruit le 6 Decembre, 1792, a 
ete retabli par ordre de sa majeste, Louis Philippe 
l er , Roi des Francais le l er , Juillet, 1841. 



The custom with those who make a business of 
taking the waters is to repair every morning be- 
times to the Pouhon, whence they visit in succes- 
sion each of the others. Thus exercise and the 
mountain air combine, with the salutary influence 
of the waters, to expedite the cure. For those who 
are indisposed to this exertion, other promenades 
are laid out within the village, called, respectively, 
" Promenade de Quatre heures," and " Promenade 
de Sept heures," from the time of the day at which 
they are frequented. Overhanging the latter is the 
mountain of Annette and Lubin, where resided that 
interesting pair, whose history Marmontel has re- 
lated in a pleasing manner in one of his Moral 
Tales, though he has taken the liberty of transport- 
ing them to the banks of the Seine. 

These salubrious springs, where Nature proffers 
an easy and painless cure to disease, seem, in un- 
grateful return for her favours, to be .generally se- 
lected throughout Europe for the establishment of 
gambling-houses. Here, as in other places, not far 
from the principal spring, rises the Redoute, an ex- 
tensive pile of building, embracing within its am- 
ple walls a theatre, a cafe, a ballroom, and a spa- 
cious saloon, where the votaries of " trente-et-un" 
and " roulette" resort. This is the only place in 



A F1LU1UMAGE TO TREVES. 39 

Belgium where gambling is openly tolerated by 
government. 

There is an art for which Spa has long been fa- 
mous, whose productions are diffused throughout 
Europe, and even find their way occasionally to us 
in America — the art of painting in water-colours 
on wood. This material, having been first steeped 
for a few days in the mineral water, thence acquires 
a grayish or slate-coloured tint, together with the 
necessary hardness for the purposes of the artist. 
The painting is then finally highly varnished, to 
preserve it from destruction. An infinity of small 
articles ornamented in this way- — screens, snuff-box- 
es, dressing-cases, and elegant trifles of all sorts, 
are here offered for sale, and they form no incon- 
siderable source of wealth to the inhabitants of the 
village, as they are estimated to bring a return of 
one hundred and fifteen thousand francs per annum. 

A brief glance at the history of Spa may not be 
uninteresting. The name Spa signifies, in the 
old French language, " fountain." Its waters, 
though undoubtedly known long before to the in- 
habitants of the country, began to enjoy an extend- 
ed reputation only towards the end of the sixteenth 
century. The first person of distinction who visit- 
ed them was Louis de Gonzague, Due de Nevers, 
in 1576. Alessandro Farnese, prince of Parma, 
the greatest general of his age, whose valour and 
address regained all the Belgic provinces for Phil- 
ip the Second, came hither to recruit his exhausted 
strength in the year 1589. In the next century a 



40 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

crowd of distinguished persons resorted to these 
springs, among whom was Charles II. of England, 
then an exile. The eighteenth century, however, 
was the most brilliant period at Spa. Peter the 
Great having here recovered his health in 1717, 
the afflux of visiters became so great that the Em- 
peror Joseph the Second, who visited this water- 
ing-place in 1781, called it " the Cafe of Europe." 
Public gaming-tables were first established here in 
1763, by a private company, under the authority 
of the Prince-Bishops of Liege, who enjoyed a 
per centage on their profits, which per centage 
amounted in 1774 to eighty thousand florins per 
annum. In 1784 commenced a series of troubles, 
excited by some individuals, who, jealous of the 
large gains acquired by the proprietors of the priv- 
ileged tables, attempted to establish a gambling- 
house of their own. These discontents continued 
till the year 1789, when the ill-judged reforms of 
Joseph II. threw his Belgic provinces into a state 
of insurrection. The malecontents at Spa imme- 
diately joined the insurgents. The old order of 
things was for a short time restored by the Aus- 
trian army in 1791, but being defeated and driv- 
en beyond the Rhine in 1794 by the French, the 
Bishopric of Liege, with the rest of Belgium, was 
incorporated into the French Republic. 

This spot has always been a favourite resort of 
the English, and still continues to attract many of 
that nation. It seems, indeed, to be gradually re- 
covering its former popularity. During the pres- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 41 

ent season it was the residence of two illustrious 
personages, both of royal blood, both exiles, and 
exiles for the same cause. One was an Infanta of 
Spain, daughter of Don Francisco de Paula, who, 
having married, against the wishes of her family, a 
Polish count, bearing the melodious title of Gu- 
rowsky, is in disgrace and banishment ; and the 
other the Prince of Capua, with his bride the fair 
Penelope, for whose sake he finds himself in a sim- 
ilar predicament, since his brother, the King of Na- 
ples, absolutely forbids his return to that kingdom. 

The environs of Spa are remarkably beautiful. 
Situated on the very verge of the Ardennes, it is 
enclosed by hills of considerable elevation, along 
whose woody sides walks have been traced in ev- 
ery direction for the gratification of visiters. Here 
the mountain ash grows luxuriantly, displaying in 
abundance its rich scarlet berries. At various 
points pavilions and seats appear, which command 
delightful views over the valley. Beyond the sum- 
mits of these hills, extensive waste lands of a 
marshy soil, intersected by deep ravines, stretch 
far and wide. These are called, in the language 
of the country, " Les Hautes Fagnes,'' or the High 
Marshes. They are covered with a sort of heath, 
which, bearing a profusion of purple blossoms, 
communicates its peculiar tint to the entire land- 
scape. The rock itself, when visible, has the same 
colour, derived from an admixture of iron. 

Nothing can have a more singular or striking- 
appearance than these wide table-lands, whose 

I) 2 



42 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

loneliness is only diversified by rude crosses, placed 
at intervals along the road, bearing the awe-inspi- 
ring inscription, " Priez pour les Trespasses" — 
Pray for the Departed ! 

It was a gloomy morning when I set out across 
the Fagnes to visit the Cascade of Coo. The end- 
less heaths looked the very picture of desolation. 
The heavy rains, which had lately fallen, had made 
the mountain roads almost impassable to anything 
but the little Ardennes pony on which I was 
mounted, one of those active and docile crea- 
tures which are so much in request at Spa for 
making excursions to the various picturesque but 
not very accessible objects in the neighbourhood. 

The cascade is about three leagues to the south 
of the town. At this point, the River Ambleve, 
meeting in its course a rocky barrier of considera- 
ble height, but no great breadth, is forced to make a 
long sweep around a mountain, until it returns to a 
point not 100 yards from where it began this cir- 
cuit ; but its channel having been all the while de- 
scending with a gradual slope, it is now some 50 
feet lower on this side than on the opposite. Stand- 
ing on the wall of rock which intervenes, you see 
the same river, on one side flowing in one direc- 
tion, on the other running in a course directly oppo- 
site, and at the same time 50 feet below its former 
bed. Here, then, the hand of Art has attempted 
to improve on Nature, and by cutting through thia 
narrow wall, so as to divert a portion of the upper 
stream directly into the lower, has formed a beau- 
tiful cascade. 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 43 

A bridge is thrown directly across the chasm. 
No sooner does a stranger arrive there than he is 
beset by a crowd of old women, who have devised 
an original mode of making money by means of 
dogs, which they throw into the river, in order that 
he may see them carried down the fall and regain 
the bank on the opposite side. I am sorry to con- 
fess that I gave encouragement to this cruel prac- 
tice, which makes the place the Paradise of old 
women and the Hell of dogs. 

The Grotto of Remouchamps is another of the 
wonders of Spa. After again traversing the soli- 
tary heaths, I descended at length into a charming 
valley, through which runs the Ambleve, having 
reached this point in its winding course from Coo. 
Following its bank, I soon reached the mouth of 
the cavern, which penetrates the limestone rock to 
a considerable distance, enlarging- at intervals into 
chambers, whose walls glitter in places as if set 
with gems. Beautiful stalactites are also seen, as 
well as various grotesque shapes, to which, as usual, 
the guides have given appropriate names. 

Immediately opposite to the entrance of this 
cavern, on the other side of the stream, the lovely 
pleasure-grounds and verdant woods of Montjar- 
din contrast strangely with the old chateau, con- 
verted into a modern residence. Perched on the 
summit of a dizzy precipice, rising boldly from 
the water's edge, enclosed on every side, except 
towards the river, by a luxuriant growth of wood, 
its turrets and steep oldfashioned roof, bearing at 



44 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

each extremity a huge elaborate ornament of iron, 
produce a singular and beautiful effect. The draw- 
ing-room windows look plumb down into the river, 
flowing some 200 feet beneath. What a fine op- 
portunity for a distracted lover- to exhibit himself 
in an affecting attitude before a hard-hearted mis- 
tress ! 

Following the bank of the river for about a 
league farther, suddenly the ruins of the Castle of 
Ambleve broke upon the sight. The stream here 
makes a sharp bend, and at the very point where it 
turns, there shelves upward, at an acute angle, to 
the height of 300 feet, the rock on which. the cas- 
tle is built. At this distance one massive tower 
is alone visible : half of it had fallen, so that the 
whole interior was exposed to view. On approach- 
ing more nearly, the vast size of this ancient strong- 
hold of the De la March's became apparent. It 
occupied the whole crest of the rock, which is al- 
most as inaccessible on the inland side as towards 
the river. This elevated position commands a de- 
lightful prospect. On the right hand and on the 
left, the valley of the Ambleve spreads out before 
the eye, backed by rugged hill-sides, and still ter- 
minated in the distance by the purple heaths. 

The origin of this castle is lost in antiquity, yet 
it is mentioned in history 1100 years ago, when 
it was the residence of the kings of Austrasia. 
Among the country-people it goes by the name of 
" the Castle of the four sons of Aymon." The old 
French romance called "The History of the Four 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 45 

Sons of Aymon, right noble and valiant Knights," 
is very ancient, and one of the most popular in ex- 
istence. This Aymon was Prince of the Ardennes, 
and the story consists chiefly of contests between 
his four sons and Charlemagne, who was fired with 
an implacable vengeance against them, because 
Regnaut, the eldest, had killed the emperor's 
nephew, Berthelot, by striking him on the head 
with a chess-board of massive gold. Truly, as the 
romancer assures his readers, the history of King 
Alexander does not contain as many memorable 
deeds as the Quatre Fils Aymon performed, and 
especially Regnaut, who was the tallest man in the 
world, and distinguished himself particularly by 
the good-will with which he destroyed the perni- 
cious sect of Saracens. In some of the straits to 
which they were reduced, the prowess of the four 
brothers would have availed them little, had it not 
been for the assistance of their cousin, the en- 
chanter Maugis, and the horse Bayard, who could 
run like a stag 10 leagues without stopping, lived 
as well on roots as other horses on oats, and could 
understand language almost as well as a man. 
The name is still a favourite here, though given to 
horses which have often but little of the merit of 
their prototype. 

Leaving Spa on the 22d, I retraced my route to 
Pepinster, passing on the left the country-seat 
called Juslenville. It is now about two centuries 
since an eccentric character inhabited this spot, 
who has left behind him a tradition which forms 



4(3 A PILGRIMAGE TO TJtEVES. 

part of the archives of Spa. He was an English 
nobleman, and his mode of life was as follows : 
He passed the first ten days of each month with- 
out eating or drinking, remained alone in his cham- 
ber, and spoke to no one, not- even to his wife; 
one domestic only could see and address him with 
impunity. The ten following days he rose before 
the dawn, went to drink the water of the Pouhon, 
then set out to hunt, accompanied by a numerous 
cavalcade, and returned home exhausted with fa- 
tigue. He then devoured what would have satis- 
fied three men, and drank much strong wine. Im- 
mediately after the repast he returned to the 
chase, and he supped in the same manner he had 
dined. The whole day long he kept eating differ- 
ent kinds of sweetmeats, dried pears, and prunes, 
which a servant carried behind him in a large bag. 
He finished the month, either at Juslenville or at 
Spa itself, in giving himself up to music and in 
squandering immense sums. He gave to those he 
met silk stockings, hats with plumes, and valuable 
gloves, of which he had three boxes full. If a 
musician performed an air which pleased him, he 
would make him a present of 15 or 20 ducats. 
He used to throw three or four crowns to a single 
poor man ; he would force the noblemen of the Low 
Countries to accept horses of great swiftness, and 
he offered his mantle and clothes to the first comer. 
Whether this original died of indigestion, com- 
mitted suicide on some sad November day, or re- 
turned to his native land and was gazetted as a 
bankrupt, the legend does not say. 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 47 

From Pepinster to Liege the railroad still pur- 
sues the charming valley of the Vesdre, covered in 
every direction with neat factories and elegant 
country-houses. Among the latter, the most con- 
spicuous is "Les Masures," a good specimen of 
the gingerbread Gothic, or florid Cockney style, 
belonging to M. Biolley, a wealthy cloth-manufac- 
turer of Verviers, who has lately been empowered 
by his majesty to prefix to his name the title of 
" Vicomte." 

Having passed the village of Chaudfontaine, fa- 
mous for its warm springs, and a favourite resort of 
the Liegeois, I arrived at Liege. 



48 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 



CHAPTER IV. 

History of Liege. — Situation. — Churches. — Palace of the Prince- 
Bishops. — Quentin Durward. — University. — Gretry. — Excur- 
sion to Maestricht. — Subterranean Quarries. 

Liege is the great armory of Belgium ; the iron 
and coal which abound in its neighbourhood give 
life to the manufacture of fire-arms, which forms 
the chief employment of a population of upward 
of 72,000. The narrow and gloomy streets have 
more than the ordinary filth of a manufacturing 
town, and hence the beautiful situation of Liege 
can only be appreciated from the summit of one 
of the hills which encircle it. From the citadel, 
which crowns the heights of Sainte Walburge, 
the whole city is seen, spread out like a map before 
you. 

But let us first abstract ourselves from the pres- 
ent for a moment, and see what has happened here 
in former times to clothe with interest this confu- 
sed mass of towers and roofs. 

The history of this city, from the thirteenth to the 
end of the eighteenth century, is hardly anything 
more than a recital of the bloody insurrections of 
the people against their prince-bishops, feeble ru- 
lers, half ecclesiastical, half secular, and whose 
conduct was often neither religious nor princely. 
These were little able to restrain so ferocious and 
insolent a mob as the good citizens of Liege, whose 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 49 

manners, as well as those of their rulers, may be 
imagined from the following narration : 

In 1407 the citizens expelled their bishop, John 
of Bavaria, and chose another in his place. A te- 
dious warfare ensued between the rightful prince 
and his revolted subjects. At length the former, 
becoming weary of the controversy, wrote a con- 
ciliatory letter to the insurgents, promising to forget 
the past if they would return to their duty. The 
citizens replied to this friendly appeal by returning 
the semblance" of a letter, formed of the bark of a 
tree, to which were appended seven seals of cow- 
dung : an act which disgraced them, and ought so 
to have been considered by a royal mind. The 
prince, however, revenged himself for this insult 
by hanging a number of his prisoners, and tearing- 
out the eyes of six or seven others, whom he sent 
into the enemy's camp with a one-eyed man for 
their guide. The Duke of Burgundy having now 
come to his assistance, a pitched battle took place 
on the plains of Othee, near Tongres, and the reb- 
els were defeated with horrible carnage, nearly 
20,000 of their number being left dead upon the 
field. 

On another occasion three hundred nobles were 
burned to death in the Church of Saint Martin, 
where they had vainly sought refuge against the 
popular fury. 

Traits of ferocity like this disfigure every page of 
the history of the Liegeois ; in the fierce struggles 
of the communes against their rulers, the excited 

E 



50 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

passions of the mob often urged them to acts of 
savage, relentless cruelty, punished generally by 
stern vengeance on the part of their ecclesiastical 
princes. This serves to throw a gloomy shade 
upon the annals of the town ; yet in these sangui- 
nary contests appears the first germe of civil lib- 
erty, a golden fruit, only to be won by such rude 
efforts, and after many a bitter repulse. 

Looking now from this bastion, the sight ranges 
over the whole fertile valley of Liege, bounded by 
hills on every side. The charming environs of the 
" Queen of the Meuse" recall to mind the prophet- 
ic exclamation of St. Monulphe, when .chance 
had led him to this spot, while all was yet uninhab- 
ited. Struck with the beauty of the scene, " Be- 
hold !" he cried, " the place which the Lord has 
choserr for the salvation of a great number, and 
which he will yet make a city equal to the great- 
est. We will ourselves build here a chapel in hon- 
our of the blessed saints Cosmo and Damien." 
That chapel was the beginning of Liege. 

See how the silver Meuse pursues its course 
through the whole length of the valley. Two 
bridges cross it where it passes through the city. 
That nearest to us is the famous Pont des Arches, 
where the French defeated the Austrains in 1794. 
A third bridge in the distance is that of Val Benoit, 
a noble structure recently erected for the railroad. 

Lie^e still vindicates her claim to the title of 
" eldest daughter of Rome" by the num*ber and 
magnificence of her churches, though the old Ca- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 51 

thedral lias disappeared, razed to the ground du- 
ring the French Revolution. Directly beneath us 
is the Church of St. Barthelemy, one of the most 
ancient buildings in the city. Its twin towers, 
four-sided, and each side terminating in a gable, 
look forlorn and mouldering, as if worms had 
gnawed the solid stone. They have stood there for 
more than 800 years. Ha !- there is life yet in 
those old towers ; their chimes are beginning to 
play a merry tune, which sounds like a cheerful 
voice in an aged frame. They will yet last for 
centuries ; the works of our ancestors outlive our 
degenerate productions in the same proportion that 
the lives of the first men exceeded ours. 

A little to the right of this church, and dating 
from about the same period, is that of Sainte Croix, 
with her graceful octagonal tower. Both these 
churches were built before the period of the Gothic, 
or, as it is here better called, " Ogival" arch, and 
the portions which have remained unaltered by suc- 
ceeding architects are curious studies for the anti- 
quary. More distant still stands the Church of St. 
Martin, a chastely elegant Gothic edifice, rebuilt in 
1542, after the catastrophe in which, as I have re- 
lated, three hundred nobles perished among its 
burning ruins. As we descend from the Citadel, 
we will enter for a moment and admire the con- 
stellation of painted windows which adonis the ap- 
sis of the choir, and the bas-reliefs in the Chapel of 
the Fete-Dieu, the immortal work of a native sculp- 
tor, Delcour. This festival, which gives its name 



i>2 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

to this chapel, is called, also, " Corpus Christi," 
and is celebrated in honour of the body of Christ 
essentially present in the Eucharist, was instituted 
here, and solemnized for the first time A.D. 1264. 

The interior of the Church of St. Jacques is the 
glory of Liege. It is one of the most elegant mon- 
uments in Europe, belonging to the last and most 
florid period of the pointed style. Here, however, 
I prefer to imitate the example of a judicious wri- 
ter* while translating his words : 

" I dare no longer speak of the effect produced 
on me by this grand religious architecture of the 
Middle Ages. They have so heaped up common- 
places, cloudy and frantic phrases on the flight of 
arches, the sublime obscurity of naves, the radi- 
ant visions of painted windows, that I remain mute 
in the presence of these objects, in spite of the emo- 
tion which they cause me." 

This church contains an architectural curiosity, 
which is said to have excited the particular admi- 
ration of Peter the Great — a double spiral stair- 
case of stone, leading to a little gallery in the 
choir. The construction of this staircase is such, 
that two persons can ascend or descend it at the 
same moment without seeing each other, and the 
secret has puzzled not only the Czar of Muscovy, 
but also the most skilful mechanics. 

The present Cathedral of Liege is a stately 
building, and contains a work of art, lately execu- 

* De Reiffenberg, quoted in the " Memoire sur FArchitecture 
Ogivale en Belgique" of Schayes. 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 53 

ted, which proves that, in one branch of design at 
least, the Belgians of the present day are not infe- 
rior to their forefathers. It is a*pulpit of carved 
oak, fifty-seven feet in height, of indescribable rich- 
ness of decoration, the work of the sculptor Greefs. 
It is adorned with bas-reliefs of the same material, 
and its niches contain marble statues of the size 
of life. 

The people of the Low Countries have always 
excelled in this art. Under their hands, oak has 
assumed forms which ought to have been consign- 
ed to a less perishable material. Almost every 
church in Belgium contains interesting, often mag- 
nificent specimens of carving, exhibited in pulpits, 
stalls, and confessionals. 

Besides the churches, there is but one of the 
public buildings of Liege which is worthy of no- 
tice. It is the palace of the prince-bishops, now 
the Palace of Justice, erected by the Bishop Erard 
de la Marck in the beginning of the sixteenth cen- 
tury. The interior court is quadrangular, and sur- 
rounded by a colonnade of sixty pillars of the most 
grotesque form, bulging like a balustrade, and 
carved with arabesques. Grim or laughing faces 
peer out from the sculptured leaves which form 
their capitals, monsters of all sorts crawl around 
them ; in a word, the fancy and invention of the ar- 
chitect seem to have been exhausted in these con- 
ceits, no one of which resembles another. 

The palace of the prince-bishops ! What asso- 
ciations are connected with that name ! The mind 

E 2 



54 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

turns from History to revel in the domain of Ro- 
mance with Quentin Durward, and the gentle Isa- 
belle de Croye, the Bishop Louis de Bourbon, and 
his murderer William de la Marck, the redoubta- 
ble Sanglier. 

Sir Walter Scott has, as he himself acknowl- 
edges, taken rather more than the usual liberty ac- 
corded to novelists, in giving a romantic dress to 
historical events. This circumstance creates a 
strange confusion in the mind. One would fain 
believe a narrative which has all the appearance 
of truth, and it is hard to convince one's self that 
the " good bishop" was, in fact, a weak and prof- 
ligate young man, who was slain, not at the festive 
board, but in open battle, bearing arms, which be- 
came not his calling ; and that Charles of Burgun- 
dy, so far from avenging the death of his priestly 
relative, had himself perished, five years before, un- 
der the walls of Nancy. 

The author of Quentin Durward commits anoth- 
er error, of which he does not seem to have been 
aware, in calling the Liegeois Flemings, and ma- 
king Flemish the language of Liege, whereas it is 
the very metropolis of the Walloon dialect. 

Liege has always been distinguished for the cul- 
tivation of letters, even from the eleventh century, 
when she bore throughout Europe the title of 
" Fountain of Wisdom." The Walloon country, of 
which it is the capital, gives birth, in general, to the 
literary talent of the kingdom, while her artists, on 
the contrary, spring from the Flemish provinces. 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 55 

The University contains rich collections in every 
branch of science. Its buildings are very exten- 
sive, but in an ungraceful style* of architecture. 
The square in front is adorned by a colossal bronze 
statue of the composer Gretry, who was born here 
in the year 1741. His works, distinguished by mel- 
ody and expression, still keep possession of the 
stage. Two of his operas, "Zemire et Azor," and 
"Richard Cceur de Lion," have lately been revived 
at Paris with great success. An air in the latter, 
" O Richard; o mon roi, l'univers t'abandonne," 
has attained an historical reputation, from an oc- 
currence which testifies at once the depth of the 
composer's genius, and the power of his art to 
'move the feelings. Who does not remember the 
picturesque description which the historians of 
the French Revolution give of the Orgies of the 
Gardes du Corps, when the performance of that 
expressive and popular air excited in them such a 
phrensy of loyalty, that they drank the health of 
their insulted king with swords drawn, and, as 
their enemies asserted, trampled the national col- 
ours under foot 1 

Music often shows its power in times of civil tu- 
mult. It was the representation of the opera of 
Masaniello, or " La muette de Portici," as it is 
called on the Continent, which excited the first 
overt acts of the Belgian Revolution of 1830. 

I set out on the 25th, though the rain, which had 
been falling for some time, still continued, with 
the intention of visiting the subterranean ciuarries 



5b' A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

of Maestricht. For this purpose, I embarked in 
one of the little iron steamboats, of the smallest 
possible draught of water, which ply on the Meuse. 
The banks of the river were half concealed by 
mist, and the stream itself, swollen and discol- 
oured, ran with an impetuous current, which, aided 
by the power of steam, carried us down with great 
velocity. I saw enough of the scenery to prove 
how beautiful it must appear under a brighter 
sun : islands and meadows ; hills decked with old 
quaint chateaux; fantastic country-houses; and lit- 
tle villages, older by centuries than our great cities, 
and richer in reminiscences of the past. Among 
the latter is Herstal, or Heristal, birthplace of 
Pepin le Gros, maire du palais, generally called 
Pepin d'Heristal, and of Pepin le Bref, king of 
France, the father of Charlemagne, who was him- 
self born here, according to some authorities. 

The district which here forms the western bank 
of the Meuse is the old Hasbagne, the vast domain 
of Pepin de Lauden, and, in fact, the cradle of 
the Carlovingian race. It was the habitual resi- 
dence of those dues and maires du palais, who, 
after long enjoying the royal authority without the 
title, at length assumed that also in the person of 
Pepin le Bref. Being the original patrimony of 
the second race of French Kings, it was the fre- 
quent resort of the illustrious heroes of that family, 
of the three Pepins, and of Charles Martel, wor- 
thy harbingers of Charlemagne. The emperor 
himself celebrated the feast of Easter at Heristal 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 57 

on six distinct occasions, and his son, Louis le De- 
bonnaire, is said to have been born there. 

We landed at Maestricht just "above the fine 
stone bridge, built in 1683, which connects the 
city with the suburb of Wyck, on the opposite side 
of the river. This city, one of the most strongly 
fortified places in Europe, still belongs to Holland. 
Being garrisoned by Dutch troops at the time of 
the Belgian Revolution, its population did not join 
the movement, and it was definitively assigned to 
Holland by the Treaty of London in 1831, which 
fixed the limits of the two kingdoms. 

The hill called St. Pietersberg, or Montagne St. 
Pierre, rises from the water's edge about a mile to 
the north of the town. It is chiefly composed of 
calcareous stone of a light-brown colour, in which 
organic remains are constantly met with. This 
stone is so extremely soft as to crumble between 
the fingers, and attracts moisture on exposure to 
the atmosphere, so that it is not well-adapted for 
building; it is used, nevertheless, for this purpose, 
and the quarries having been worked for a long 
series of ages, the interior of the mountain has 
been converted into a labyrinth of passages, sup- 
posed to extend beneath a surface of ground six 
leagues in length by two in width ; and so nu- 
merous and perplexing are they, that it would 
be madness to enter them without an experienced 
guide. Such a one I had, who styles himself on 
his card, " Premier Connaisseur des Souterrains 
de la Montagne de St. Pierre," and who had, in 



58 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

fact, discovered and preserved from death two chil- 
dren who had wandered into the caverns. 

Lighting a torch, he proceeded to conduct me 
through these dark and silent places, the work of 
men long since passed away. The passages, said 
to be 2000 in number, are all of sufficient width 
to admit wagons, and of proportionate height, and 
they have an issue upon the Meuse, by means of 
which boats can be loaded directly from the quarry. 
They have been Worked with extreme neatness, 
the stone being removed in square blocks, which 
are easily cut out, without its being necessary to 
resort to blasting or other means. Columns have 
been left at proper intervals to support the roof. 

On the walls are inscribed names of all dates 
and languages, from the time of the Spanish wars 
down to the present day. One of the latest in- 
scriptions is the autograph of the King of Holland. 
In one place the profound stillness is broken by 
the ceaseless dropping of a spring, which falls from 
the roof into a rude basin of stone. After wan- 
dering through the various avenues for about two 
hours, I returned to Maestricht, and having viewed 
the Church of St. Servais, and the open place in 
front of it, where William de la Marck expiated 
his crimes beneath the sword of the executioner, I 
a^ain embarked for Lie^e. 

The difficulty of advancing against the current 
was now proportioned to the ease with which we 
had descended the stream, and the rain, which fell 
in torrents, did not conduce to the pleasure of the 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 59 

voyage. Arriving at Liege, which looked dingier 
and more gloomy than ever, the first salutation I 
received on landing was a demand for my pass- 
port, though I had left the city that very morning. 
On the whole, I retired to rest in a rather misan- 
thropical mood. 



60 A TILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 



CHAPTER V. 

Huy. — Nameche. — Tomb of Sybille de_ Lusignan. — Namur. — 
Floreffe. — Dinant. — Bouvignes. — Three Ladies of Crevecoeur. — 
Freyr. — Waulsort. 

The next morning the rain had ceased, and I 
left Liege in the steamer for Namur, intending to 
remain a day at Huy. The banks of the Meuse 
above Liege maintain the same beautiful character 
as between that city and Maestricht. Here, how- 
ever, we see at intervals among the cultivated 
fields great furnaces for smelting iron and zinc, 
pouring out smoke and lurid flame, and tainting 
the air with poisonous exhalations for miles around. 
Among them is Seraing, formerly the summer- 
palace of the prince-bishops ; now, strange trans- 
formation ! the most celebrated iron-foundry on the 
Continent — a town in itself, where steam-engines, 
and all varieties of machinery are made in perfec- 
tion. Its immense extent may be imagined from 
the fact that it alone employs 3000 workmen. 

Gallantly stemming the current of the river, our 
little steamer soon came in sight of Huy, whose 
citadel, built on a towering rock, fronts the stream. 
Constructed in 1815, this imposing fortress is not, 
like most others of modern date, half-buried under 
the surface of the ground, but raises its massive 
walls high in air. On the narrow strip of land 
between the foot of the rock and the river stands 
the church, a majestic structure of the 14th cen- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 61 

tury. The town itself is divided by the Meuse 
into two parts, which are again connected by 
a very handsome stone bridge of seven arches, 
built in 1686. These three striking objects, the 
bridge, the church, and the citadel, form a pictu- 
resque scene, which is farther heightened by the 
hills which crown the banks of the river, on whose 
slopes the vine begins to appear. Rising from the 
water's edge on either side are various old build- 
ings, many of them suppressed convents. The 
whole place is romantic beyond description. 

Having enjoyed a comfortable repose under the 
guns of the citadel, which rises just before my 
window, I set out early the next morning to ex- 
amine the church. I passed into its precinct 
through an ancient portal, above which were sculp- 
tured the Nativity, the Wise Men Offering, and the 
Adoration of the Shepherds, in the boldest relief, 
the whole surrounded by a rich border with kneel- 
ing angels. On entering the building I was for- 
cibly impressed by its majesty. The effect of 
most of the Belgian churches is spoiled by the 
manner in which the choir is separated from the 
rest of the interior. That sacred place, that Holy 
of Holies, where the priest celebrates the myste- 
ries of the Faith, is generally shrouded from the 
eyes of the profane by rich screens of brass or 
marble. It is often even on a different level from 
the rest of the building, so as to be ascended by 
steps. In the church of Huy it is not so. The 
marble pavement extends, a level surface,' from 

F 



G2 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

the steps of the altar to the western extremity of 
the nave, where an elegant rose-window sheds a 
magical light upon it. The columns which sup- 
port the roof alone break the long perspective. 

Even at this early hour some solitary worship- 
pers were to be seen. Enter a church in Belgium 
at any time you will, you are sure to find some of 
the faithful at their devotions. The Roman Cath- 
olic religion seems to be firmly established here 
in the hearts of the people. When the mass is 
celebrated, the vast Cathedrals are thronged to 
overflowing; and when the crowd has departed, 
the altar is still surrounded by kneeling worship- 
pers. Far be it from me to question the purity of 
such devotion. Be its errors what they may, the 
church whose doors are ever open to invite our en- 
trance speaks more powerfully to the feelings than 
our Protestant temples, which from Sunday to 
Sunday are abandoned to dust and solitude. 

Once more embarking on the river, I bade fare- 
well to this romantic spot, which has another claim 
to notice from having been the place to which Pe- 
ter the Hermit retired after the object of his mis- 
sion had been accomplished, and where he died in 
1115. 

To one who loves the history of the Crusades, 
this part of Europe is full of interesting reminis- 
cences. The village of Nameche, between Huy 
and Namur, possesses a remarkable monument of 
that era — the tomb of the last Queen of Jerusalem. 
On the opposite side of the river the Rocks of Sam- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 63 

son tower to a tremendous height. Their summit 
is crowned by the scanty ruins of a castle. Here 
died Sybille de Lusignan, its chatelaine, sister of 
Baldwin the Fourth, mother of Baldwin the Fifth, 
and wife of Guy de Lusignan, the last of the kings 
of Jerusalem. She was thus the sister, mother, 
and wife of kings ; but in what an unhappy and dis- 
tracted realm ! The crown of Jerusalem, it is cer- 
tain, brought but little ease to the head that wore 
it. In the Church of Nameche I saw her tomb, an 
ancient sepulchral stone, on which is rudely sculp- 
tured a female figure of the size of life, with hands 
clasped upon her breast, and her feet resting on a 

4og. 

The cure of the village has, with singular good 
sense, erected an altar directly in front of the mon- 
ument, so that a great part of it is hidden. This 
circumstance prevented me from deciphering an 
inscription which surrounds the figure. Those 
who have had a better opportunity of examining 
it give it as follows. It is in old French : 

" Ici gist ly droite iretaine chatelaine de Sam- 
son, qui fut del lignage li roi de Jerusalem ; priez 
por l'asme, que Dieu console." 

Here lies the hereditary chatelaine of Samson, 
who was of the lineage of the King of Jerusalem ; 
pray for the spirit, which may God console. 

On a smaller stone by the side of this appears 
the following, with an illegible date : 

" Yci repose les ossemens de Sybille de Lusig- 
nant, reine de Yerusaleme, decedee l'an . 



64 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

As you approach Namur, the shores assume 
a bolder character. Precipices, composed appa- 
rently of huge blocks, rudely piled one upon 
another, constantly border the stream. These are 
generally ranged in isolated and columnar masses, 
with hanging woods between, producing a contrast 
of the most pleasing kind. 

A favourite ornament in the gardens along the 
river is one of the large green bottles which are 
manufactured to hold sulphuric acid, placed on a 
pedestal, so as to reflect an agreeable view, to 
which it gives somewhat of the effect of a Claude 
Lorraine glass. 

The ancient city of Namur is built at the con- 
fluence of the Sambre with the Meuse. Its cita- 
del, conspicuous from afar, covers almost as large 
a space as that occupied by the city itself. The 
fortress is situated on a boldly rising ground, all 
cut into artificial slopes, and covered with bastions, 
lunettes, and every other contrivance of defensive 
warfare. The next day after my arrival I went 
over the works with an old soldier of Napoleon, a 
relic of the "Grand Armee," who limped after me 
with great activity, in spite of a wound he had re- 
ceived in the foot at the passage of the Beresina. 
He pointed out to me a little tower as worthy of 
my particular observation, on account of its having 
been built by Julius Caesar; accordingly, I re- 
garded it with profound attention, though rather 
distrusting the depth of the old man's antiquarian 
attainments. 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVErf. 65 

Namur contains a fine Cathedral, erected during 
the last century, and dedicated to St. Aubain. 
The facade, ornamented by two ranges of Corin- 
thian columns, has a very good effect. The inte- 
rior is spacious and well proportioned. Behind 
the great altar I saw a black marble tablet to the 
memory of Don John of Austria, natural son of 
Charles the Fifth. This, as the inscription states, 
was erected in the year 1578, by his nephew, Alex- 
ander Famese, prince of Parma, "to the honour of 
the conqueror at Lepanto, who, when viceroy of 
the Netherlands under Philip the Second, was car- 
ried off by a continued fever, while yet in the 
bloom of youth." His death took place at the vil- 
lage of Bouges, close to Namur. This tablet, 
originally placed in the old Cathedral, which occu- 
pied the site of the present one, has been carefully 
restored. Beneath it lie interred the entrails of the 
prince, the rest of his body having been conveyed 
to Spain, to repose by the side of his father. 

The Jesuit's Church of St. Loup boasts a ceil- 
ing which is a perfect miracle of patient labour, 
composed entirely of stone. A brother of the or- 
der, whose name has unfortunately perished, de- 
voted himself to the task of decorating it with 
carvings, consisting of fruits, flowers, and ara- 
besques, executed with admirable skill, and thickly 
covering every portion of the vaulted roof. As I 
strolled about this church, I encountered a curiosity 
in the shape of an altar, over which presided a 
paltry image of the Virgin, made of ebony, with 

F 2 



66 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

an ivory head : the whole altar was, to use a poet- 
ical expression, " instinct with eyes," eyes of sil- 
ver ! for the image, as it appears, enjoys a mighty 
reputation in curing diseased eyes, and these vo- 
tive offerings evince the gratitude of the patients. 

The city of Namur is chiefly distinguished for 
the manufacture of fine cutlery, which is at present, 
however, in a declining state. Since the establish- 
ment of the Zollverein, its products are stated to 
have diminished by more than one half. The 
province is fertile, in spite of its generally moun- 
tainous surface. Beneath the soil iron abounds, 
and lead is met with in some places. Slate is 
found, and beautiful marble of different colours 
is quarried along the banks of the Meuse, and in 
other places in the vicinity. 

The immediate environs of the city are charm- 
ing. FlorefFe is a village in the neighbourhood, to 
which I made an agreeable afternoon's excursion. 
Here stands an ancient abbey, whose extensive 
buildings, of the most picturesque and fantastic 
construction, rise from a terrace which overhangs 
the Sambre. Everything is in perfect preserva- 
tion, as it is now converted into a seminary for 
priests. The interior of the church, rebuilt during 
the last century, is even more chastely magnificent 
than that of the Cathedral at Namur. Through- 
out its vast length, Corinthian pillars and walls of 
pure white contrast admirably with the pavement 
of variegated marble. Entering the choir, on ei- 
ther hand a long train of prophets and kings, carv- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 67 

ed in solid oak, separate the stalls from one ano- 
ther. 

I was much interested by the decorum which 
appeared to reign throughout the establishment, 
from the reverend fathers, who returned my saluta- 
tion with formal politeness, down to the official 
who conducted me through the apartments. All 
spoke in slow and measured accents, with solemn 
countenance and grave deportment, which harmo- 
nized well with the antique air of the old ab- 
bey. I could fancy them to be of the number of 
those Jesuits of old, who, whatever may have been 
their faults, always maintained the character of 
pure and conscientious instructers of the young, 
"and laboured in that vocation with a zeal which al- 
most atoned for the crimes of such of their breth- 
ren as thrust themselves into the councils of kings. 

On the 30th of August I travelled from Namur 
to Dinant on foot, a mode of conveyance which is 
by universal consent particularly suited to lovers 
of the picturesque. Nor had I reason to regret 
having adopted it ; for between these two places 
the valley of the Meuse displays all its character- 
istic beauties, in every possible combination of 
cliff, meadow, stream, and forest; and again, when 
I left the immediate banks of the river, the inland 
country presented to the eye one vast cultivated 
field, at this season all yellow with the ripe grain : 
the reapers had begun their work, and labouring 
sometimes six abreast, were making wide inroads 
among the crops. 



08 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

Tt is an interesting fact, that the mountains of this 
country gave birth to the artists who first treated 
landscape painting as a distinct branch, and not as 
a mere accessory to figures. The region is worthy 
of having engendered that enchanting art, of 
which the ancients had no idea. 

Towards evening I arrived at Din ant. This 
town strikingly resembles Huy in its situation. It 
is compressed, as it were, between the Meuse and 
the foot of a precipice, which is surmounted by a 
chateau-fort, built since the battle of Waterloo. A 
stone bridge crosses the river, and an ancient 
church, with a spire grotesquely bulging in the 
middle, rises just under the rock. 

Dinant is at present chiefly distinguished for the 
fabrication of cakes of a particular kind, famous 
throughout the country, and called " Coucques de 
Dinant !" In the 14th century the place was 
equally celebrated for the manufacture of kitchen 
utensils of iron and copper, and works of art in 
brass, which formed an object of traffic throughout 
Europe under the name of " Dinanterie." 

I have seen (in the Church of St. Barthelemy at 
Liege) a curious baptismal font of brass, made by 
a workman of Dinant in the beginning of the 12th 
century. It is of great size, covered with bas-re- 
liefs, representing scenes from the lives of St. John 
and John the Baptist, and stands on oxen, like the 
" molten sea" in Solomon's Temple. Its antiquity 
is shown by the manner in which the Eternal 
Father is represented — simply by a hand proceed- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 69 

ing from a cloud, which symbol alone was in 
use down to the 13th century, until the daring ir- 
reverence of artists led them to represent the De- 
ity under the form of an old man. 

The wealth which the inhabitants of Dinant ac- 
quired by this manufacture excited a bitter jeal- 
ousy in those of Bouvignes, a town on the oppo- 
site side of the Meuse. Blood was shed during 
the quarrel, which lasted for five years, in the course 
of which the men of Bouviornes erected for their 
defence a high tower, which they called Creve- 
coeur, whose ruins still exist, and which was long 
afterward the scene of a tragical story, which I 
will soon relate. 

The history of Dinant is remarkable for an act 
of terrible vengeance inflicted on the town by 
Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, and his son, 
Charles the Rash, who then bore the title of Count 
of Charolois. Louis the Eleventh, having induced 
the Liegeois and the people of Dinant, which 
town belonged to the bishopric, to join him in 
his war against the house of Burgundy, he after- 
ward perfidiously concluded a separate treaty for 
himself, without providing for his allies. The Lie- 
geois, left to themselves, were soon defeated and 
brought back to their allegiance ; but the inhabi- 
tants of Dinant were reserved for a severer punish- 
ment. 

While the Count of Charolois was making war 
in France, they had hung him in effigy before the 
walls of Bouvignes, which belonged to his father 



70 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

the duke, crying to the inhabitants, " See the 
pretended son of your duke, the false Count of 
Charolois, whom the King of France has hung, 
or will hang, as he is here shown. He calls him- 
self the son of your duke, but he lies ; he is only 
a miserable bastard of Hinsberg our bishop, and 
your good duchess." 

The count swore that he would make them pay 
dearly for this outrage, and when the peace with 
Louis was concluded, proceeded to lay siege to Di- 
n ant with an army of 30,000 men, Aug. 14, 1466. 
The townsmen, relying on the aid which they ex- 
pected from the King of France, laughed, at first, at 
the great preparations of the count, and the old 
duke, who was now near his end, and so weak 
that he had been brought in a litter from Brussels. 
The duke, anxious to spare them, sent messengers 
to propose a capitulation, which the besieged not 
only rejected, but hung the chief of the embassy, 
who belonged to their rival town, Bouvignes. From 
the top of their ramparts, in fancied security, they 
taunted and provoked the Burgundian soldiers, ex- 
claiming, 

"What does your old mummy of a duke propose 
to himself— has he lived so long only to perish here 
by a miserable death 1 and your count, what does 
he want here? Let him rather go and combat at 
Montlheri the noble King of France, who will 
come without fail to help us." They also placed 
on their walls the figure of a woman spinning, 
with the inscription, 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 71 

" Quand de filer cette femme cessera, 
Le due Philippe cette ville aura." 

When this woman shall cease to spin, 
Philip the duke this town shall win. 

But their boasting soon gave place to the deepest 
anxiety. No succour arrived from France : Louis 
remained deaf to the supplications of those whom 
he had deceived by his intrigues. The town was 
forced to surrender at discretion. For four days it 
was given up to pillage, and then to the flames. In 
sight of their burning houses, 800 of the inhabi- 
tants were tied back to back, and thrown into the 
Meuse, and the commandant of the town was hung 
from the summit of the rock which overhangs the 
river. Labourers were employed to destroy all 
that the fire had spared, and four days afterward, as 
an old historian observes, a stranger, viewing the 
place where this wealthy town once flourished, 
might ask, "Where stood Dinant ?"* 

Children are rarely taught by the experience of 
their fathers : this bitter lesson, it appears, was 
lost on a succeeding generation, who, before a hun- 
dred years had passed, again let loose their tongues 
to "rail on the Lord's anointed," and were ao-ain, 
in like manner, punished. 

In the year 1554, Henry the Second, king of 
France, being at war with Charles the Fifth, sent 
an envoy to Dinant, proposing to the inhabitants to 

* I am indebted for many of the facts as well as details, of this 
narration, to the interesting " Esquisses ou Recits Historiques sur 
l'Ancien Pays de Liege," by M. L. Polain. 



72 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

remain neutral ; an offer which they declined, po- 
litely adding that, if they should get possession of 
the persons of the King of France, or his general 
the Due de Nevers, they would " roast their hearts 
and livers for breakfast." The duke forthwith in- 
vested the town, which was forced to surrender, 
and again given up to pillage. He next attacked 
Bouvignes, which was taken by assault. 

The tower of Crevecceur still held out. Among 
its defenders were three of the most distinguished 
chevaliers of the country. Their young and beau- 
tiful wives had accompanied them to share their 
peril, and contributed in no slight degree, by their 
words and example, to encourage the garrison. 
In the final assault their husbands were slain ; 
burning to avenge their death, they mingled in the 
desperate contest which was raging at the breach. 
After signal acts of courage, perceiving that the 
defenders of the castle had almost all fallen, and 
that the enemy were endeavouring to take them 
alive, these three heroines precipitated themselves 
from the summit of the wall, hand in hand, and 
perished. Until lately, a yearly commemoration of 
" the three ladies of Crevecceur" was celebrated in 
the parish-church at Bouvignes. 

I spent four days at Dinant in exploring its 
neighbourhood, the natural beauties of which are 
enhanced by the ruins of several feudal strong- 
holds, such as the castles of Poilvache, Montaigle, 
and Chateau Thierry, each a scene of past blood- 
shed and of present desolation. On the left bank 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 73 

of the Meuse, between Dinant and the French 
frontier, is the more modern chateau of Freyr, be- 
longing to the noble family of Beaufort-Spontin, 
where a famous commercial treaty was concluded 
between France and Spain, Oct. 25th, 1675. 

In the domain of Freyr is a grotto, discover- 
ed in 1819, where, in remote times, the goddess 
Freya, the Venus of the North, is supposed to 
have been worshipped, and to have given her name 
to the spot. A long and narrow passage opens 
into the grotto, which is of no great size, but beau- 
tifully adorned with stalactites, and illuminated 
from above by an aperture in the roof, through 
which the softened light of day streams with a 
mysterious effect, like moonlight on heaps of snow. 
Still nearer to the frontier is Waulsort, now a pri- 
vate residence, but originally a Benedictine Abbey, 
built in the year 944 by Eilbert, count of Florennes. 
This nobleman, possessing great wealth, carried 
his ostentation to such a length as to build seven 
magnificent chateaux on as many different estates. 
Being at a fair in Picardy one day, he saw offered 
for sale a fine horse which belonged to a priest. 
He bought the horse on the condition that he should 
not pay for him until a certain day, in order that 
he might have an opportunity to try the animal. 
In the mean time, as he was a stranger to the 
priest, he left with him, as a pledge, a rich piece 
of jewelry, on which the goldsmith Saint Eloy had 
engraved the story of the chaste Susanna. The 
day of payment having arrived, he presented the 

G 



74 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

sum required, and demanded the restitution of the 
jewel. The priest denied having received it. The 
anger of the count was violent ; he assembled his 
vassals, seized upon the town where the priest 
lived, and burned the church. Repentance follow- 
ed hard upon the deed. To make reparation for 
his crime, he rebuilt the church which he had 
burned, and, as he had formerly erected seven cas- 
tles, he resolved to build a corresponding number 
of churches, and among them, one at Waulsort, his 
ordinary place of residence, with a monastery, 
which he gave to some monks just arrived from 
Scotland (who had probably received a hint of 
what was going on). 

Beyond this point I followed the Meuse no far- 
ther. From Maestricht to Waulsort I have traced 
its course, and its delightful banks are imprinted 
on my memory among those spots of earth where 
it would seem that man cannot choose but to be hap- 
py, so liberally has Nature decked them with her 
gifts. - 

Yet this region, like the rich plains of Flanders 
(the rendezvous of battles), has hitherto been 
" War's favourite playground;" and even now, a 
strife equally bitter, though less bloody, is ever ra- 
ging here— -the struggle of Industry against inade- 
quate reward. What else could I think, when I 
everywhere saw women labouring in the fields, 
harnessed like beasts, and painfully dragging boats 
against the current of the river, or trampling with 
bare feet a mixture of coal-dust and clay, so as to 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 75 

form a homogeneous mass, which they afterward 
form into small cakes to be used for fuel % 

Vast and intricate as is the problem of the Or- 
ganization of Industry, feeble and unsatisfactory 
as have been the attempts hitherto made to solve 
it, it begins to attract a daily-increasing interest, 
and will soon occupy the exclusive attention of 
those who love their fellow-men, and fondly hope 
for their advancement. 

Then this beautiful country may indeed be peo- 
pled by a happy race. Nor till then will the Bel- 
gians penetrate the full meaning of their excellent 
motto, Union makes Strength, 

L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE. 



76 A PILGKIMAGE TO TREVES. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Rochefort. — Trou de Hans — St. Hubert.. — General Description 
of the Ardennes. — Walloon People and Language. 

I set out from Dinant on the 4th of September 
to perform a solitary pilgrimage across the savage 
tract of the Ardennes. For the last month my 
ears had been filled with rumours of a great reli- 
gious festival at Treves, the exhibition of the " Sa- 
cred Robe" of Christ, and I had resolved to join 
the thousands who were directing their steps 
thither ; not that I attribute any virtue to relics, for 
I have been taught to look upon them as " fond 
things vainly invented, and grounded on no war- 
ranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the 
word of God ;" nevertheless, I was glad to meet 
with such an opportunity of observing manners, 
and witnessing the perpetuation of one of the most 
interesting institutions of the ancient faith. 

I travelled along the eastern bank of the Meuse 
for a short distance, and then, turning to the right, 
pursued the valley of the Lesse. Between Dinant 
and the point where the Lesse empties into the 
Meuse is a famous rock called " Roche a Bayard." 
It is a singularly picturesque object, a perpendicu- 
lar needle or spire, standing on the very brink of 
the river, and completely isolated at the termina- 
tion of a wall of cliffs. It derives its name from 
the noble horse of the Quatre Fils Aymon. Bay- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 77 

ard, as the story tells, was thrown into the Meu.se, 
by order of Charlemagne, with a stone tied about 
his neck ; but he broke the stone to pieces with 
his feet, then swam to shore, and rushed like light- 
ning into the forest of Ardennes, where many peo- 
ple think that he is still living. The marks of his 
feet were seen of old upon the rock, but were de- 
stroyed, as I was informed, at the time when Louis 
the Fourteenth caused the opening between the 
cliff and the rock of Bayard to be widened, so as 
to give space for the road. 

The valley of the Lesse is picturesque and fer- 
tile as far as the royal villa of Hardenne, and is 
adorned by many old chateaux and farm-houses. 
Built while reminiscences only lingered from those 
good old times when private feuds armed every 
man against his neighbour, and made every man- 
sion a castle, these assumed an intermediate char- 
acter between a fortress and a peaceful habitation. 
Their glazed windows are in strange proximity to 
flanking towers and iron-plated doors. Such edi- 
fices are always pleasing features in a landscape, 
with their high, steep roofs garnished with two or 
three rows of curious little dormer windows, and 
with iron pinnacles of every imaginable design ; 
their situation is often such as to add to their effect, 
as when, for instance, placed on a projecting rock, 
almost surrounded by a stream. 

Hardenne, the farm and hunting-seat of the 
King of the Belgians, is a plain building, of which 
about one third is ancient; the rest has been erect- 

G2 



78 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

ed by the present proprietor. The interior is fur- 
nished in a style of simple elegance. On a preci- 
pice which overhangs the Lesse the king has just 
built a large and lofty stone tower, called " the 
Castle of the Rock," which he has lately inhabited 
for the first time. He has here purchased, from his 
own private resources, large tracts of waste and 
forest land, which he is occupied in reclaiming. 

As I left this villa and approached the hamlet of 
Mont Gauthier, the characteristic scenery of the 
Ardennes began to appear; an open, undulating 
country, with patches of woodland chiefly occupy- 
ing the ravines ; for this tract, though dignified with 
the general title of a forest, is in many places per- 
fectly bare of trees and underwood, presenting to 
the eye a monotonous and barren waste. Night 
was coming on as I arrived at Rochefort, an unin- 
teresting village, overshadowed by the ruins of a 
castle, from whose walls, in place of a banner, 
hangs the sign of a notary, who has here estab- 
lished himself, and built a comfortable house, which, 
as may be imagined, makes a somewhat glaring 
contrast with the feudal towers which -surround it. 

It was at Rochefort that La Fayette was made 
prisoner, in violation of the Law of Nations, by the 
Austrian advanced posts in 1792 : a capture fol- 
lowed by his five years' imprisonment. 

There is a remarkable natural phenomenon 
in the neighbourhood of Rochefort, called the 
" Trou de Hans." The River Lesse here passes 
through the very centre of a mountain. Precipi- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 79 

tating itself into a gulf at its base, it disappears 
from view, until it is again seen emerging from the 
opposite side. The water is supposed to consume 
one entire day in traversing the secret windings of 
this passage ; for, when it has been agitated and 
discoloured at its entrance, as after a storm, the ef- 
fect is not manifest at its issue until after that space 
of time. It is impossible to follow the course of 
the stream where it falls into the abyss; at the 
place of its exit, however, it is comparatively easy 
to penetrate into a series of caverns which are no 
doubt among the most curious in the world. 

Meeting at Rochefort a party of ladies and gen- 
tlemen — one of the latter the son of a distinguish- 
ed Belgian jurist, whose name is widely known, 
from his connexion with the Belgian Revolution — 
I accepted their invitation to join them in an ex- 
cursion to the spot. 

It is necessary to enter the cavern in a boat, ad- 
vancing' for a considerable distance against the cur- 
rent of the river. This entrance might appal weak 
nerves. We seemed to be intruding with profane 
curiosity into the mysteries of Nature. The scream- 
ing of bats, frightened by the light of our torches, 
Was the only voice of welcome that we heard as 
we disembarked, and began to thread a rocky path 
called " the Devil's Passage." It would be impos- 
sible to describe all the wonders which now present- 
ed themselves to us. The plastic hand of Nature 
has moulded the rock into every conceivable vari- 
ety of shape to adorn " The Bower of Proserpine," 



80 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

"The Grand Dome," " The Gothic Chapel," "The 
Frog Gallery," " The Hall of Beetles," " The Hall 
of Foxes," and an infinity of others, which derive 
their names from the grotesque forms which the 
stalactites have assumed. 

In one vast cavern, whose walls rise to the height 
of more than sixty feet, the guide suddenly left 
our party, and, clambering to a point of rock far 
above our heads, lighted there a quantity of straw 
which he had earned with him. 

" The sudden blaze far round illumined Hell /" 
I could compare the effect to nothing so well as to 
those illustrations of the Paradise Lost, nr which 
the genius of Martin has depicted the infernal re- 
gions. We saw the river, at times, flowing at our 
feet ; the next instant it had disappeared, to trav- 
erse some hidden channel where the foot of man 
cannot follow it ; perhaps, as Wordsworth ima- 
gines, to soothe with its murmurs the anguish of 
tortured spirits, who, far within the bounds of cen- 
tral earth, pine for lost grace and goodness. It was 
a relief to issue from these abodes of darkness into 
the cheerful light of day, and our gayety proved to 
those who were waiting for our return at the mouth 
of the cavern that we had not, at least, experienced 
as lasting an impression from its horrors as those 
of old who entered the Cave of Trophonius, and, 
as a consequence, never smiled afterward. 

The next day I walked from Rochefort, through 
a wild and thinly-inhabited country, to St. Hubert, 
a paltry village, but boasting a church of which 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 81 

a capital-city might be proud, on, account of its 
size and the magnificence of its interior. It for- 
merly belonged to a rich and ancient abbey ; and, 
possessing the mortal remains of St. Hubert, the 
patron of hunters and enemy of evil spirits, was 
one of the most frequented places of pilgrimage 
in the world. The church is ornamented with a 
profusion of variegated marble, and the choir con- 
tains some tolerable oak carving, the principal fig- 
ures of which are stags bearing a cross between 
their antlers. 

Saint Hubert, it seems, took great delight in the 
diversion of hunting. As he was one day pursu- 
ing with ardour a stag of extraordinary size, he 
was surprised to see a crucifix appear between 
the animal's horns; at the same time, he distinctly 
heard the following words : " Hubert ! Hubert ! 
how long will you pass your time uselessly % 
Know you not that you were born to know, love, 
and serve God, your Creator V 1 Converted by 
this apparition, he retired from the world into the 
deep solitude of the Ardennes, abandoning the 
society of men, as his legend says, to cultivate that 
of angels. Having filled the episcopal seat of 
Liege, and performed the usual quantum of mira- 
cles, he died in the odour of sanctity. The com- 
mon people still ascribe to his relics the power of 
expelling demons, of curing hydrophobia and the 
bites of venomous animals. 

We have now entered the province of Luxem- 
bourg, the wildest, the most barren, and the least 



82 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

populous of Belgium. In consequence of recent 
political events, about one third of what formerly 
constituted the province has been dismembered 
from the rest, to form a grand-duchy for the King 
of Holland. The portion which has fallen to the 
lot of Belgium is the least valuable, though the 
most extensive, and corresponds with tolerable ex- 
actness to that tract to which is given the general 
name of " Ardenne" or "Ardennes." 

The forest of Ardennes may be said to extend 
from the Meuse to the Moselle, covering the fron^ 
tiers of Prussia, France, and Belgium, and en- 
croaching considerably on the southeastern angle 
of the latter kingdom. Nature has so marked its 
limits that the labour of man can produce but lit- 
tle effect in contracting them. Its size has scarce- 
ly diminished during 1900 years, for Ceesar* states 
that it was in his time comprised between the 
Rhine and the frontiers of the Remi, the eastern 
boundary of which nation was the River Meuse. 
At that time only the borders of the forest were 
inhabited. Feeble tribes dwelt there, dependant 
upon the Treviri, who occupied the rich valley of 
the Moselle. 

* Csesar says, " Silvam Arduennam . . . quasingenti magnitudine 
per medios fines Trevirorum a flumine Rheno ad initium Remo- 
rum pertinet" (Caes. Comm., lib. v., cap. iii.) ; and again, " Ar- 
duennam Silvam quae est totius Galliae maxima atque ab ripis 
Rheni finibusque Trevirorum ad Nervios pertinet millibusque 
amplius D in longitudinem patet" (lib. vi., cap. xxix.). The River 
Meuse formed the eastern boundary of the Nervii as well as of 
the Remi. 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 83 

This tract is, in general terms, one vast plateau 
of schist, its elevated table-lands sometimes attain- 
ing the height of 2000 feet above the level of the 
ocean. For the most part uninhabited and uncul- 
tivated, it presents only a dreary succession of 
heaths, bogs, and forests. Here and there, in the 
valleys where streams of water flow, a rich vegeta- 
tion reigns, and humble villages appear at inter- 
vals. These little rivers sometimes present pleas- 
ing scenes ; but, in general, a character of savage 
wildness or of mournful desolation prevails, as 
the forests alternate with the open heaths. 

The only cultivation of which these open tracts 
are susceptible is by the method called " incinera- 
tion." The sod is removed and piled in little 
heaps, which, having been allowed to dry, are set 
on fire. The ashes are afterward spread over the 
surface of the ground. Thus a crop is obtained ; 
but it now becomes necessary to let the land lie 
fallow for 15 or 20 years, after which the same 
process has to be gone through with, for the same 
result. 

The wood found on this ungrateful soil is prin- 
cipally oak, whose bark furnishes the material to 
many tanneries. The trees, though often close set 
and of ample growth, do not, by their individual 
size, strike the eye of one who has seen the forests 
of the New World. In these regions the wild 
boar still roams at large, and wolves occasionally 
appear in winter. Deer, foxes, hare, and all kinds 
of game abound, and the brooks are full of trout, 
and the little crav-fish called " ecrevisses," one of 



84 A riLC.RIMAOE TO TREVES. 

the greatest delicacies of the country. Such at- 
tractions are sufficient to entice many sportsmen to 
these solitudes, who generally establish their head- 
quarters at St. Hubert. I have already spoken of 
the Ardennais horses ; these are hardy animals, 
some of them of no mean speed. In ancient 
times they gave the Treviri the reputation of pos- 
sessing the best mounted cavalry in Gaul. The 
mountain sheep of Luxembourg are of very small 
size, but yield a fine wool. 

The Walloons, who inhabit this province, as 
well as those of Liege, Namur, Hainaut, Eastern 
Limbourg, and a portion of Brabant, are a race 
distinct from the Flemings in character as well as 
in language. Their traits are thus given by an ad- 
mirable writer, in a work now in the course of 
publication.* 

" This race is of Gaelic origin, as the names of 
cities, towns, and hamlets attest. It possesses the 
fire, the courage, the independence, the vivacity, 
the eloquence of the Celts ; black eyes, brown 
hair, an acute expression of countenance. It gives 
to Music and Literature the preference over the 
Arts of Design. It would be wrong, nevertheless, 
to consider it as completely French ; this race ap- 
pears so to the Teutonic nations, but the French 
discover in it a Germanic air. Good humour, sim- 
plicity, the calm of individual passions, are traits 
which in reality distinguish this people no less 
than the Germans. The cold and observing- glance 

* Alfred Michiels, Histoire de la Peinture Flamande er Hol- 
landn&e. 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 85 

of the Gaelic nations characterizes them not ; they 
cannot, like these, read the depths of the soul ; they 
cannot judge by anticipation, spy out sentiments, 
foresee intentions. There is a mournful sadness 
beneath the gayety of the French, a cruel indiffer- 
ence under their attractive manners. The affabil- 
ity of the Germans is more sincere, and the Wal- 
loons are like them in this respect. It is certain, 
moreover, that at the moment when the Roman in- 
vasion tookplace, Teutonic colonies occupied the 
entire soil of what now forms Belgium, after having 
expelled the original possessors belonging to the 
Gallic race. Almost all the institutions which 
governed the Walloon cities during the feudal 
epoch were of a German nature. In fine, the prov- 
inces just mentioned abound in legends, like the 
countries beyond the Rhine." 

This blending of the German and French char- 
acter in that of the Walloons is very perceptible. 
To the order, morality, and industry of the one, they 
unite the gayety and affability of the other. Even 
the lowest classes have a tincture of courtly man- 
ners ; the peasants, when they meet, take off their 
hats to each other, with every demonstration of 
mutual respect. An old beggar, on whom I had 
bestowed a few centimes, offered me his snuff-box 
with a recommendation of its contents, and anoth- 
er put my Republican simplicity to the blush by ad- 
dressing me with the title of " Monseigneur." The 
original Celtic base of the Walloon language was 
no doubt deeply modified by the German invasion, 

H 



86 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

It afterward sustained a still more radical altera- 
tion from the all-pervading influence of Rome, 
and, from the number of words of Latin origin thus 
introduced into it, it has a striking resemblance to 
the old French. It has, nevertheless, a character 
peculiar to itself, and an energy of expression is 
ascribed to it which cannot be imitated in other 
languages. The Walloon tongue can hardly be 
said to possess a literature. It boasts some chron- 
icles written in the thirteenth and fourteenth cen- 
turies, but at present only popular songs and other 
trivial works appear in it. French has everywhere 
supplanted this language in polite society, and it is 
only heard in its purity in the villages and among 
the lower orders. A great defect and obstacle to 
its improvement is found in the variety of its dia- 
lects, which differ so widely one from another that 
the Walloon of Hainaut is unintelligible to a Lie- 
geois, and, strange to say, even the different quar- 
ters of the city of Liege vary in their pronunciation. 

The similarity which exists between the Wal- 
loon and the old French may be seen in the follow- 
ing version of the Lord's Prayer in the former lan- 
guage. 

Nos peer kest a cier, santifie se ti nom. Ti 
royame nos avieun. Ta volontei so faite en l'terr 
com a cier. Dine no nos pein k'tidien ajourdhu : 
et pardon no pechei com no pardonn no detteu. 
Et nos indus nin en tentation, mein delivre no de 
mal. Amen* 

* Etudes Historiqnes et Litterfu'res sur le Wallon, par Ferrt. 
Hen an x. 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 87 



CHAPTER VII. 

Bouillon. — Dutch and Belgian Luxembourg. — Abbey of Orval. — 
City of Luxembourg. — The Moselle. — Monument of Igel. — Pro- 
cessions. — Treves. 

Having hired an antique vehicle, called here, by 
courtesy, a " cabriolet," I left St. Hubert on the 
8th. The roads lately constructed throughout the 
province of' Luxembourg are admirable specimens 
of engineering, and certainly the finest which ex- 
ist in Belgium. Indeed, the scale on which they 
have been planned seems hardly warranted by the 
population or business of this part of the country. 
I have travelled on these splendid roads for hours 
without meeting a single individual, much less a 
vehicle of any description. They appear to have 
been constructed with exclusive reference to the 
future, and certainly such" perfect means of inter- 
nal communication must eventually prove of im- 
mense advantage to this portion of the kingdom. 

I was anxious to see Bouillon, the cradle of that 
ephemeral dynasty of kings which the knights of 
the West established on the throne of the Holy 
City. On the banks of the Meuse I had visited 
one spot where the preacher of the first crusade 
spent the closing years of his life ; another, where 
the last Queen of Jerusalem lies buried ; and now I 
beheld the place where its first king, Godfrey of 
Bouillon, passed his youth. No part of Europe 



88 A riLGRlAIAGE TO TREVES. 

sent to the Holy Wars more numerous or valiant 
soldiers than the Flemish or Walloon provinces. 
Among them Godfrey stands pre-eminent. His 
is one of the few historical characters which ap- 
proach perfection. His intrepid valour forms a 
beautiful contrast to the purity of his heart, and to 
the modesty which, when the unanimous voice of 
his companions pronounced him alone worthy of 
the crown, would permit him to accept no higher 
title than that of " Guardian of the Holy Sepul- 
chre." 

Bouillon is at present a miserable and filthy 
town of about 3000 inhabitants, situated in a ra- 
vine, or, rather, a hole among the rocks. The Se- 
moy, a tributary of the Meuse, flows through it. 
Entering the ravine from the south, through a rocky 
portal, the river meanders through a beautiful land- 
scape, in the background of which stands the cas- 
tle of Bouillon, an uncouth mass of walls and 
stunted towers, none of them of earlier date than 
the middle of the sixteenth century. It occupies, 
nevertheless, the site of the original castle of God- 
frey, and beneath the present buildings are gloomy 
dungeons, of a vast antiquity, hewn out of the solid 
rock. My guide showed me here an excavation 
called " Godfrey's Arm-chair," a name probably 
invented to excite the interest of strangers, for 
Godfrey could hardly have resorted to these abodes 
of wretchedness, where, as I groped through the 
darkness, I trod suddenly upon the iron grate 
which covered the opening of the oubliettes, the 



A PILGRIMAGE TQ TREVES. 89 

Dungeon of Death, into which the unhappy victims 
of feudal cruelty were thrown, and left to perish 
alone, forgotten by the world. 

When Godfrey joined the first crusade, he sold 
Bouillon to the bishops of Liege. It afterward 
fell into the possession of William de la Marck 
d'Aremberg, the Sanglier des Ardennes. The 
last heiress of that house, Charlotte de la Marck 
d'Aremberg, transferred it to the family of La 
Tour d'Auvergne by her marriage with the Prince 
of Turenne. Louis the Fourteenth made of this 
little duchy an independent state under the pro- 
tection of France. United to France during the 
French Revolution, it Was assigned, after the over- 
throw of the Empire, to the kingdom of the Pays 
Bas. The province of Luxembourg then consist- 
ed of two portions, distinguished by their language 
as Walloon and German. The Walloon portion, 
composed entirely of the old Duchy of Bouillon, 
has been retained by Belgium since the Revolution 
of 1830. That portion of the present Belgian 
province of Luxembourg which was not comprised 
in the ancient Duchy of Bouillon was assigned to 
Belgium as an indemnity for the country ceded to 
Holland between Maestricht and Venlo, in order 
to establish a continuity between the Dutch pos- 
sessions in that quarter. The German part was al- 
lotted by the great powers to the King of Holland, 
to be preserved by him with the title of Grand- 
duke ; and, apparently, on very just grounds, since 
he held that portion of his dominions by a different 

H 2 



90 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVEg. 

title from the rest. It was given to him in 1814 as 
a compensation for the old possessions of the house 
of Orange-Nassau in Germany ; and, in his capa- 
city of Grand-duke of Luxembourg, the King of 
Holland still belongs to the Germanic Confedera- 
tion. The Belgians, however, have never ceased 
to complain of the injustice with which they fancy 
themselves to have been treated in this partition. 

I have travelled on foot through the forest of 
Saint Cecilia from Bouillon to Florenville. Close 
on the French frontier, at the distance of about six 
miles from the latter place, are the ruins of the 
Abbey of Orval, to visit which I was obliged 'to 
quit the direct road to Arlon. Leaving Floren- 
ville, I plunged into a wood thicker and more ex- 
tensive than any I had yet seen. For miles, on 
both sides, it was absolutely impenetrable to the 
eye, on account of the dense growth of trees. As 
usual, not a soul was to be seen on the road; and a 
solitary traveller, if attacked by one of the wolves 
or boars which haunt these forests, and wishing for 
help, would need a horn like that with which Ro- 
land, when hard pressed on the field of-Roncevaux, 
summoned Charlemagne to his aid at the distance 
of eight miles. 

Without yielding to such thoughts, I kept man- 
fully onward, till, suddenly emerging into an open 
valley, I stood all at once before the ruins. It is 
impossible to imagine anything more impressive 
than their appearance, their vast extent, and the 
deep solitude that surrounds them. A high stone 



A P1LGK1MAUE TO TKEVEri. 91 

wall encloses the whole area occupied by the build- 
ings. I passed through it by a gate, the stone- 
work above which had once been rich with armo- 
rial bearings, now almost entirely effaced. If these 
memorials of the former occupants or benefactors 
of the abbey are no longer legible, its more re- 
cent history may be read in the chisel-marks by 
which they have been erased. These speak of 
ruffian violence, of wanton devastation, to which 
these venerable walls have been unfortunately ex- 
posed. Over the arch of the gate, however, the 
date 1518 is still distinctly visible. 

I entered at first a spacious court, occupied, on 
the side where I stood and on the right, by ranges 
of building, formerly the storehouses and offices 
of the abbey. On the left were other buildings of 
a more conventual character, among which I dis- 
covered an immense apartment, which I supposed 
to have been the refectory, or the kitchen, partic- 
ularly as a large circular pool occupied one corner 
of it, walled with stone, and filled by subterranean 
conduits with clear and delicious water. Here, no 
doubt, the good fathers preserved the fish for their 
meals on fast-days. It is now appropriated, as is 
but- too evident, to the use of cattle. 

The side of the court which fronts the gate was 
once occupied by the abbey-church, an edifice of 
great size (judging from its remains), and of cor- 
responding magnificence. Among the rubbish I 
trod at every step on masses of precious marble, 
fragments of columns and pilasters, which had for- 



92 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

merry adorned its interior. To the left of this 
stand the ruins of another church, of much greater 
antiquity. It is smaller than the former, and was 
probably found insufficient, in the progress of time, 
to accommodate the increasing numbers of the 
brotherhood, whose wealth also demanded a more 
magnificent temple. Nevertheless, there has been 
here no want of decoration, considering the period 
at which it was erected. The capitals of the col- 
umns, which exist in perfect preservation, are rich 
and curious specimens of ancient carving, present- 
ing every variety of model, all evidently found- 
ed on the old Corinthian, but each differing from 
the rest. The windows have circular heads, al- 
though a solitary arch which remains from the 
roof is pointed. These characteristics show that 
the building dates from a period when the Roman 
architecture was declining towards its final extinc- 
tion, but before its entire fusion into the pointed 
style. 

Behind these two churches is a long and stately 
range of cloisters, fronting on the opposite side 
upon a beautiful and level green, in old times the 
abbey-garden. It occupied the bed of the valley, 
whose sides were cut into a regular succession of 
terraces, six in number, supported by walls. The 
garden is terminated at the opposite end by the 
ruins of a summer-house or pavilion, on each side 
of which a door, opening through the garden wall, 
gives access to a fine piece of water, now neg- 
lected and overgrown with weeds, formed by dam- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 93 

ming up the stream which runs through the valley. 
A portion of the water is diverted, by an artificial 
channel, through the whole length of the garden, 
to supply a mill among the offices, and an exten- 
sive pile of building, in utter ruin like all the rest, 
where iron was smelted. 

Thus the establishment seems to have contained 
within itself everything necessary for the support 
of its inmates. A peaceful and happy life they 
must have led here, in their well-named Golden 
Vale,* till the fatal day which gave to the flames 
this noble creation of the old religion. A travel- 
ler,! who visited the abbey in the year 1787, thus 
describes its appearance at that day : " The an- 
cient portion resembles a city, and the new a royal 
residence. Although it is not finished, it is easy to 
see that it will be the most beautiful abbey in the 
tcorld." 

With regard to its inhabitants, he says, " I can 
declare that I have been well pleased with these 
monks, who are very wise, modest, sober, austere 
without excess or affectation, content, and gay. 
They occupy themselves in manual labour, and 
have a taste for study. Their library is rich and 
select." " This house supports all the sur- 
rounding villages ; lodges passing travellers for 
three days ; nourishes an infinity of poor persons ; 
gives occupation to artisans and workmen without 

* Orval — Aurea Vallis. 

t The Abbe de Feller, in his " Itineraire," cited in that beauti- 
ful work, " La Eelgique Monumentale." 



94 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

number; is a commodious and honourable hos- 
telry, open to every worthy person, without dis- 
tinction, who is there treated according to his 
merit and his rank ; is a sure resource for the state, 
to which it has already given immense sums, in 
circumstances when the public treasure was ex- 
hausted." 

A pleasing picture, destined soon to be ef- 
faced ! In 1793, six years after this description 
was written, a body of French troops appeared in 
the Golden Valley. Ruin, Plunder, Sacrilege ac- 
companied them ; and at the end Fire was called 
in to complete the work of destruction.- Of all 
that princely structure, there remained only the 
fragments which I have described, sad memorials 
of an order of things which Time has swept away, 
involving its virtues and its vices in one common 
fate. 

The tradition of the spot is, that when Louis the 
Sixteenth fled from Paris, the monks of Orval 
awaited his arrival, and had prepared a repast for 
his reception. Their hospitable intentions were 
frustrated by his arrest at Varennes,- and were no 
doubt remembered to their disadvantage when the 
revolutionary soldiers arrived here. 

From Florenville to Arlon the aspect of the 
country improves, and it is covered with villages 
at short distances from one another. The Semoy 
and its tributaries here carry fertility with them, 
and invite the habitation of man. Arlon, though 
now advanced to the rank of capital of Belgie 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 95 

Luxembourg, has nothing to recommend it to no- 
tice beyond the Roman name which it formerly 
bore of Orolaunum Vicus, or Orolanum, and its 
situation on a hill, in the midst of a level country, 
over which it commands an extensive prospect. 
Soon after leaving Arlon the road crosses the fron- 
tier, and we enter the Grand-duchy of Luxem- 
bourg. The custom-house of the Zollverein, to 
which it belongs, is situated at Steinfort, and is 
conspicuous by having every object in the vicinity 
painted with alternate stripes of blue, pink, and 
white. 

. At every step the scenery now becomes more de- 
lightful, assuming more and more of the serene and 
peaceful beauty of the Rhine-land. Arriving at 
the city of Luxembourg, I passed through I know 
not how many lines of defence before penetrating 
into the heart of the place. The fortifications of 
this city are of extraordinary strength. In a de- 
bate of the Convention in 1795, Carnot character- 
ized it as the strongest place in Europe after Gib- 
raltar, an impregnable bulwark and cover to the 
frontier. The city seems to hang suspended just 
beneath . the summit of a rocky height which pro- 
jects into the valley of the Abzette. The various 
works are constructed on such a gigantic scale, 
that this wide and deep valley seems but the trench 
which ordinarily surrounds a fortress. It is full of 
tall, solitary masses of rock, which have been made 
to contribute to the security of the place : they are 
incorporated into the walls, they are crowned with 



OG A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

forts : one of them, called " Le Bouc," probably 
because Nature seems to have intended it only as 
a resort for that animal, is in itself an inaccessible 
castle ; besides the works which cover its summit, 
the solid rock has been excavated, so as to form 
chambers capable of containing a lage number of 
men. 

While viewing this stupendous fortress, it is im- 
possible to resist a feeling of melancholy. Bloody 
scenes are yet to be enacted here ! With what 
lingering pangs is the sensitive frame of man here 
destined to be tortured ! Nevertheless, the mainte- 
nance of these frontier posts diminishes in the end 
the effusion of blood, by arresting on the threshold 
the march of an invader. In this point of view, the 
importance of Luxembourg is by no means overra- 
ted. Though belonging, as I have said, to the King 
of Holland, it is also a frontier town of the Ger- 
manic Confederation, and is, therefore, strongly gar- 
risoned by Prussian troops. The interior of the 
town -has a neat and venerable appearance. The 
Lion of the house of Orange still decorates the pub- 
lic buildings, showing that here, at least, their proud 
motto, "In maintiendrai," has not been falsified. 

From Luxembourg I walked to Grevenmach- 
ern, where I reached " the banks of the blue Mo- 
selle." Gently-rounded hills, thickly clothed with 
vines, form the characteristic feature of the beau- 
tiful but rather monotonous scenery of that river. 
Though far inferior to the Rhine, and even to the 
Mouse, in romantic loveliness, it is still the gentle 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 97 

and fertilizing Moselle, " the glory of the fields, 

the glory of the husbandmen," to use the language 

of Ausonius, who has devoted an entire poem to 

its praise. 

" Salve arrmis, laudate agris, laudate colonis !" 

I followed the left bank of the river towards 
Treves, and crossing the Sure, which forms the 
boundary between Dutch Luxembourg and Prus- 
sia, I arrived at the Roman monument of Igel, an 
admirable structure of the most elegant design. 
None of the antiquaries have as yet succeeded in 
establishing, beyond dispute, the object of its erec- 
tion. The most probable opinion, however, seems 
to be, that it was a sepulchral monument, erected 
by the Secundini, rich merchants and imperial 
commissaries for the posts and armies. An in- 
scription which remains is so imperfect that no 
certain help can be derived from it, but by filling 
up lacunas it is made to read that Julius Secundi- 
nus Aventinus and Secundinus Securus erected the 
monument during their lifetime, to the memory of 
their deceased relatives and to their own. 

This structure is of a quadrangular form, 72 feet 
in height and 15 feet long at the base, by 12 in 
width. It tapers gradually from the ground to its 
apex, so as to have somewhat of the form of an 
obelisk. Composed at first of large square stones, 
without ornament, these have been afterward carv- 
ed so as to form pilasters at the angles, and bas- 
reliefs, by which its four sides are covered. In 
these, scenes of public and private life seem to be 

I 



98 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

combined with mythological figures; and such pu- 
rity of design and finish of execution reign through- 
out the whole, that its date is considered to be not 
more recent than the age of the Antonines, before 
Roman art had yet made many steps in its decline. 
Since leaving Luxembourg I had found the road 
thronged with pilgrims, some on their way to 
Treves, others returning. Most of them were on 
foot, in scattered parties. It was not until after 
passing the monument of Igel that I saw any pro- 
cessions. These, which formed one of the most 
pleasing features of the Pilgrimage, merit descrip- 
tion. Each was, in general, composed of the in- 
habitants of a single town or village ; but their 
numbers were sometimes very great, often amount- 
ing to five or six thousand, and the distance from 
which they came such as to make some trial of 
their constancy. In travelling, they marched in 
two files. The children came first, generally all 
dressed in white, and the rest followed in the or- 
der of their age. Between the files were the 
priests, in full costume. A crucifix was borne in 
advance of the whole train, and a banner at the 
head of each file. During the whole journey they 
kept singing hymns or reciting prayers. When a 
procession entered the city, all the by-standers took 
off their hats and remained uncovered till it had 
passed, and the bells of the churches in the neigh- 
bourhood were set ringing. To see one of these 
processions at night, by the glare of torches, was 
a spectacle in the highest degree impressive; but 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 99 

the most beautiful, perhaps, of all the poetic scenes 
which this festival presented was when some of 
the pilgrims embarked on the Moselle, and floated 
down that charming river, without sails or oars, 
with their banners and sacred symbols all display- 
ed, and making the air resound with their hymns. 

Soon after passing the monument I came in sight 
of Treves. The four towers of its Cathedral could 
be discerned, grouped together in the distance, in 
the middle of the valley whose fortunate situation 
and rich fertility was once the boast of the Tre- 
viri, and afterward induced the Romans to estab- 
lish there one of the great centres of their power. 

Crossing the bridge, whose piers of basalt bear 
evidence to the Cyclopean labour of Roman build- 
ers, I entered the city, whose crowded streets had 
an air of life which this decayed town but seldom 
exhibits. To supply the wants of this new influx 
of population, booths had been erected in many 
places. On some of these tradesmen displayed 
their merchandise, others were devoted to refresh- 
ments of all sorts, but the greater part were appro- 
priated to the sale of medallions, rosaries, rings, 
books, and engravings, all having reference to the 
Holy Tunic. It may be imagined how difficult it 
was to obtain a lodging among such a host of 
strangers ; but, having at length succeeded, I sallied 
forth, and joined the motley crowd which thronged 
around the Cathedral. 



100 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

History of the Robe of Jesus Christ, preserved in the Cathedral 
at Treves. 

The Cathedral of Treves claims to have pos- 
sessed, since the fourth century, the Sacred Robe 
of Christ, the " inconsutilis tunica Domini," " the 
coat without seam, woven from the top through- 
out." Its guardians believe that it was made by 
the Virgin herself for her divine offspring, ac- 
cording to the custom of the Hebrew women, who 
used to employ themselves in weaving garments 
for their husbands and children. Other persons, 
whose faith or credulity exceeds the ordinary limit, 
assert that, by a constant miracle, this garment grew 
with the growth of our Redeemer. He must have 
worn it, then, not only at his crucifixion, but also 
during the whole of his life. It was by touching 
the hem of this robe that the sick were made 
whole, and from it celestial radiance was diffused 
when Christ was transfigured upon the high mount- 
ain, when " his face did shine as the sun, and his 
raiment was white as the light." 

Among the vast number of relics which are ob- 
jects of veneration to the Roman Catholic world, 
it is hardly to be doubted but that some few are, 
in the strictest sense of the word, authentic. From 
a natural and praiseworthy sentiment, men love to 
preserve memorials of those whom fortune or merit 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 101 

has elevated above their fellows. The sword of 
the hero, the manuscript of the scholar, all the 
articles of daily use which have passed through 
their hands, are jealously guarded, and long viewed 
with interest by posterity. How much more, then, 
should the disciples of the Greatest among men, 
the First of all Creation, treasure up with care 
whatever could remind them of so exalted a per- 
sonage. That they should have done so is cer- 
tainly extremely probable ; and the reverence with 
which these memorials were regarded, and their 
consequent careful preservation, would have natu- 
rally increased from age to age, from generation 
to generation, as the events which they commemo- 
rated became more and more remote. 

The question of the efficacy of relics is one al- 
together different. That subject has been long 
since exhausted, and the opinions which divide the 
world with respect to it are well known. The Sa- 
cred Robe of Treves may be what it is assumed 
to be, without possessing the smallest real efficacy 
either to work evident miracles, or to produce a 
salutary influence upon the heart, or to purify the 
guilty soul from evil, and absolve it from its just 
punishment. Let us examine, now, on what foun- 
dation the name given to this garment rests. 

The clothes worn by the Jews consisted of a 
mantle, which was nothing more than a large 
square piece of white or purple cloth thrown over 
the shoulders, and of a shirt or tunic made of linen 
or cotton, with long and wide sleeves, which was 

T 2 



102 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

worn next to the skin, and descended below the 
knees. It was often made of a single tissue, with- 
out seam ; such, as we are informed by St. John, 
was the tunic, or "coat," as it is translated, of our 
Lord, and such is the appearance of that which 
was shown at Treves. At the Crucifixion, " the 
soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his 
garments, and made four parts, to every soldier 
a part ; and also his coat : now the coat was with- 
out seam, woven from the top throughout. They 
said, therefore, among themselves, Let us not rend 
it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be ; that the 
Scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, ' They 
parted my raiment among them, and for my ves- 
ture they did cast lots. These things, therefore, 
the soldiers did." 

It appears, therefore, that it was the mantle of 
Jesus which the executioners divided among them- 
selves : as it was simply a piece of cloth, the four 
parts which were thus made could be afterward 
employed to some good purpose ; but the tunic 
would have been rendered useless by such a pro- 
ceeding. They therefore cast lots for it. What 
became of it afterward is altogether unknown. 
The firmest believers in the identity of the Robe 
at Treves with that which was worn by our Sa- 
viour on the day when he sealed his mission with 
his blood, have here to resort to probabilities. 
The verse of St. John which follows those I have 
already cited, states that " there stood by the cross 
of Jesus his mother and his mother's sister, Mary 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 103 

the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene." 
John himself was also present. What can be 
more likely, then, say they, than that one of these 
should have, eagerly and at any price, redeemed 
from the grasp of a brutal soldier this garment of 
their Lord. Such a supposition is, in fact, ex- 
tremely probable, but it is, at the same time, en- 
tirely unsusceptible of proof; and the difficulty 
becomes greater when we learn that an equal ob- 
scurity involves the very existence of the Sacred 
Tunic for the space of 300 years, until the Em- 
press Helena visited Palestine in the year 326, 
retracing with pious steps the holy places, and 
. searching for relics to quicken the faith of prose- 
lytes at home. Her zealous labours were crowned 
with success. She discovered the place of the 
Crucifixion, the Holy Sepulchre, the Cross, the 
Title of the Cross, and the Holy Nails. The 
Robe without seam, the mystic symbol of the in- 
divisibility of the Church, was among the number 
of her acquisitions, and upon her return she is 
said to have presented it to the Church of Treves. 
This donation is unsupported by any contempora- 
ry document, and here, again, probabilities only 
are adduced to enforce the truth of the tradition. 
Treves ranked at that time as " Queen and mis- 
tress of all the churches on this side the Alps," 
and in its neighbourhood the empress had been 
born, according to one account, and had certainly 
passed some years of her life. Moreover, it was 
near this city that the luminous cross in the heav- 



104 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

ens is said to have appeared to Constantine. All 
these circumstances point to Treves as the proper 
place for the deposite of such a treasure. 

To this period succeeds an immense chasm of 
800 years, during which the Tunic is said to have 
remained hidden from view, in accordance with 
the practice of the Church, which forbade the pub- 
lic exposure of such objects. In this lapse of time 
Treves was six times sacked and devastated by the 
barbarians, with frightful carnage and destruction. 
Here the probabilities certainly tell strongly against 
the preservation of the Tunic. The custom of ex- 
posing relics to public veneration dates from the 
commencement of the seventh century, but it was 
not till the year 1196 that the one in question is sta- 
ted to have been rediscovered, by accident (after the 
place where it was deposited had been completely 
forgotten), and exhibited for the first time to the 
gaze of the people. It then remained enclosed in 
the great altar of the Cathedral till the year 1512, 
when the ceremony was repeated on the solicita- 
tion of^the Emperor Maximilian the First. We 
have now arrived within the domain of modern 
history, and no lack of documents is to be expect- 
ed from that time to the present; but it must be 
conceded that the narrative I have given of the 
original discovery of this so-called relic, and the 
frequent dangers to which it was afterward expo- 
sed; the great intervals that elapsed during which 
its existence was absolutely unknown, together 
with the want of publicity with which all transac- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 105 

tions relating to it were carried on, tend much to 
show how slender are the grounds on which its 
claims to authenticity rest. 

The history, or "Biography" of the Robe, which 
I have here given, is the authorized version, pub- 
lished at Treves under the inspection of the Bish- 
op : others treat the matter with very little cere- 
mony, particularly a publication at Dtisseldorf, un- 
der the title of " The Twenty Holy Coats," which 
professes to establish that, at the least, that number 
is claimed among different churches. 

In spite of all invalidating circumstances, the 
least credulous of the thousands here assembled 
.insist that its genuineness is still possible, and the 
slightest possibility of this kind is sufficient to 
make it an interesting object, which it is impossi- 
ble to view without some emotion. 

Since the exposition which took place in the 
year 1512, the Tunic has been publicly displayed 
nine times, seven times at Treves and twice at Eh- 
renbreitstein, to which place it had been transported 
on account of the risk of destruction or plunder to 
which it was exposed during the wars which dis- 
tracted Germany. The last exposition occurred in 
1810, and lasted 19 days. The number of stran- 
gers who visited Treves during this time amounted 
to 227,000. According to the belief of some, mi- 
raculous cures were wrought by the sight and touch 
of the relic. It is said that many paralytics, and 
other persons so sick or infirm that they had to be 
carried before it, afterward walked without assist- 
ance. 



106 A PILGRI3IAGE TO TREVES. 

Those who dread the predominance of the Ro- 
man Catholic faith, and look with anxiety on the 
signs which seem to indicate that she is about to 
resume much of her ancient dominion, will be 
struck by the fact that the exposition of the sa- 
cred Robe in the year 1844 has attracted a greater 
host of pilgrims than on any previous occasion. 
The number of * strangers who visited Treves from 
the 17th of August to the 6th of October amount- 
ed to upward of 450,000 ! 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 107 



CHAPTER IX. 

Cathedral of Treves. — Exposition of the Holy Robe. — Letter of 
Johannes Ronge. 

The Cathedral of Treves, dedicated to Saint 
Peter, is a very remarkable edifice. The central 
portion shows, both within and without, indubita- 
ble marks of Roman origin. On examining the 
external wall, it is found to be composed of Roman 
bricks, or rather tiles, for they have not the shape 
of our bricks, but are larger and flatter. There is 
much more mortar than brick in this construction. 
Within may be seen, at each angle of the cross 
which the building now forms, a Corinthian capi- 
tal almost buried in masonry. These once formed 
part of four granite columns, each 44 feet in height, 
by which the vault of the Roman structure was 
supported. Three of these yet remain in their 
original position, imbedded in piers, and entirely 
concealed from view. The fourth lies at the church 
door, a broken but still gigantic mass. In the 
ninth century it gave way, and its place was sup- 
plied by ordinary stone-work. The others were 
walled up at the same time, to prevent a similar 
catastrophe. 

This most ancient portion of the Cathedral, 
which was of a square form, was originally, as 
some think, the palace of the Empress Helena, 
mother of Constantine the Great, and converted bv 



108 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

her into a church. It is more probable, however, 
that it was from the first intended for a religious 
purpose. The building has undergone many alter- 
ations. In more recent times it has been pro- 
longed towards the east and towards the west, and 
during the last century the whole edifice was 
made to assume the form of a cross. In its ac- 
tual circuit are presented specimens of the charac- 
teristic architecture of every succeeding age since 
its foundation. The fapade is of the eleventh cen- 
tury. Its round arches and the apsis, or semicir- 
cular projection in the centre, mark its date. The 
arches have the singular peculiarity that the stones 
of which they are composed are alternately dark 
and light coloured. Two square towers which 
decorate this front are of the same period, with the 
exception of the upper portion of that on the right, 
which is in the Gothic style, and contains a clock, 
with the admonitory inscription, " Nescitis qua hora 
fur veniet," Ye know not in what hour the thief 
cometh.. From the summit of this tower the ban- 
ner of the Pilgrimage, a red cross on a white field, 
was constantly floating during the ceremony, and 
through the door at its base the throng kept enter- 
ing, in uninterrupted succession, from dawn till 
nightfall. 

The interior of the Cathedral shows yet more 
manifestly the various periods of its construction. 
The productions of every age of art are there 
thrown together in strange confusion ; the only 
idea of unity which is presented to the mind is 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 109 

suggested by the long series of elaborately sculp- 
tured monuments, all to the memory of the Elec- 
tors of Treves, whose ashes rest in the vaults be- 
neath. Towards the east the choir terminates in 
another semicircle, like that on the front of the 
building ; and behind it is the treasure-chamber 

which contains the Tunic when it is not being: ex- 

o 

hibited. 

The crowd of pilgrims entering the great portal 
on the right, in regular procession, two and two, 
reached the central nave, where they separated 
into two files, one on each side of it. Advancing; 
in this order, marshalled by officers with scarfs of 
red and yellow, the colours of Treves, they trav- 
ersed the whole length of the choir, and arrived at 
its upper end, where the two files again united at the 
foot of an elevated platform of variegated marble, 
ascended on each side by a broad flight of steps, 
and decorated for the occasion with flowering plants. 
In the centre of this platform, directly in front of 
the treasure-chamber, from which it had been taken, 
was displayed the revered object of their pilgrim- 
age, spread out in a glass case, and decked with 
white satin and blue drapery trimmed with gold. 
The people mounted the platform by the right-hand 
staircase, and passed in front of the relic, where 
they were permitted to pause for an instant, while 
they gave to one of the attending priests some small 
object, such as a medal, a rosary, or a representa- 
tion of the Robe, embroidered on silk,, or engraved 
on paper. The priest touched these, to the Tunic, 

K 



110 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

and having thus, in the opinion of the orthodox, 
extracted some of its virtues, restored them to 
their owners, who then descended the flight of 
steps on the left, and quitted the Cathedral by a 
side door. Upon a table were seen the offerings 
of the pilgrims, an immense pile of copper coins, 
testifying at once to the multitude of the donors 
and to their individual poverty. 

I am not ashamed to confess that, as I stood 
upon this elevation, and surveyed the whole scene 
which was passing, I felt deeply moved. The 
spectacle which the interior of that venerable edi- 
fice then presented might indeed excuse a mo- 
ment's credulity. On one side the pilgrims were 
pressing forward with faces of eager expectation, 
chastened by religious awe, while the solemn mel- 
ody of the organ conspired to elevate the thoughts 
of all from earth ; and as they descended, it was 
easy to read on their countenances the joy and 
gratitude with which they were filled. 

Tho Roman Catholics seize eagerly on exam- 
ples of the emotion which so impressive a ceremo- 
ny can hardly fail to excite, as proofs of a peculiar 
and divine influence which the relic exerts on the 
stubborn hearts of heretics. A chronicler of the 
exposition relates, for instance, with considerable 
naivete, that an Israelitish woman, on seeing it, 
burst into tears, and immediately made an offering 
of four thalers, which, in his opinion, is a very 
strong testimony to the authenticity and virtue of 
the Robe, 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. Ill 

But what shall I say of the miracles which the 
Holy Tunic is believed to have wrought] Among 
others, the Countess Droste-Vischering, who was 
so lame that she walked constantly with crutches, 
touched the Robe and was in an instant healed. 
The crutches, which she threw away, were hung 
up in the Cathedral as an evidence — a dubious 
one, certainly — to the reality of the miracle ! 

It is not to be supposed that a spectacle like this 
should fail to arouse an anxious interest and bitter 
indignation among the Protestants of Germany; 
yet, strange to say, a Roman Catholic priest, Jo- 
hannes Ronge, has spoken more emphatically than 
they. From an obscure village in Silesia, his voice 
has been raised, and has rung through Germany, 
arraigning the Bishop of Treves at the bar of con- 
science and of public opinion. The letter, which 
I here translate, has had an immense circulation in 
Germany, and has produced a corresponding im- 
pression. 

" That which, for a while, has sounded in our 
ears like a fable — like a tale, that the Bishop Ar- 
noldi of Treves has exhibited, for reverence and 
religious contemplation, a piece of clothing called 
" the Coat of Christ," ye have already heard as a 
fact. Christians of the nineteenth century ! ye 
know it; men of Germany! ye know it; teachers 
and ministers of the German people ! 'tis no fa- 
ble — no idle tale : it is reality and truth ! Already, 
by the last accounts, 500,000 persons have made 
the pilgrimage to this relic, and other thousands 



112 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

are daily pouring in, especially since the piece of 
clothing in question has healed the sick — has work- 
ed miracles ! The news is spreading among the 
people of all countries ; and in France ecclesias- 
tics have maintained that they possess the genuine 
Robe of Christ, and that the one at Treves is spuri- 
ous. Verily, we may here apply the words, ' He 
who on certain subjects cannot lose his wits, has 
none to lose !' Five hundred thousand human 
beings, five hundred thousand intelligent Germans, 
have already hurried to Treves to view or to re- 
vere a piece of clothing. Most of these thousands 
are from the lower classes, at any time in great 
poverty, oppressed, ignorant, stupid, superstitious, 
and in some degree degenerate ; and now they 
leave off the tilling of their fields, forsake their 
trades, the care of their households, the bringing 
up of their children, for a journey to Treves, to an 
idol-feast, to an unworthy farce, which the Roman 
hierarchy offers. Yes ! an idolatrous feast it is ! 
since many thousands of the credulous multitude 
are misled to transfer the feelings, the adoration 
which we owe to God alone, to a piece of clothing, 
a work which men's hands have made. 

"And what hurtful consequences do these pil- 
grimages produce % Thousands of the pilgrims 
pinch themselves to lay up money for the journey, 
and for the offering which they present to the Holy 
Robe, that is, to the clergy; they scrape it together 
at a sacrifice, or by begging, and return home to 
suffer hunger, want, or sickness from the fatigues 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 113 

of the journey. Great, very great as these out- 
ward evils are, the moral detriment is yet far 
greater. Will not many, who through the ex- 
penses of the journey have come to need, seek to 
indemnify themselves in an unlawful way ; many 
wives and maidens lose the purity of their hearts, 
chastity, good fame ; destroy thereby the peace, 
the happiness, the welfare of their families'? Fi- 
nally, by this most unchristian spectacle, the door is 
thrown wide open to Superstition, to Hypocrisy, 
to Fanaticism, and to its necessary attendant, Vice. 
This is the blessing which the exposition of the 
Holy Tunic diffuses, with regard to which, it is, as 
to the rest, entirely indifferent whether it be genuine 
or false. And the man who has publicly set up for 
reverence and contemplation this piece of dress, 
a work which mens' hands have made ; who has 
led astray the religious feelings of the credulous, 
the ignorant, or suffering multitude ; who has 
thereby rendered service to Superstition — to Vice ; 
who has drawn from the poor hungry people 
goods and money ; who exposes the German na- 
tion to the derision of the rest of nations, and 
concentrates yet more thickly the thunder-clouds, 
which of themselves hang thick and lowering 
above our heads — -this man is a bishop — a German 
bishop : it is the Bishop Amoldi of Treves ! 

" Bishop Amoldi of Treves ! I turn, therefore, to 
you, and demand of you, in virtue of my office and 
calling as a priest, as a teacher of the German 
people, and in the name of Christianity, in the 

K2 



114 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

name of the German nation, in the name of public 
teachers, to put an end to the unchristian spectacle 
of the exposition of the Holy Robe ; I call on you 
to withdraw the article of dress, in question from 
the public gaze, and not to make the scandal still 
greater than it is already ! For know you not — - 
as bishop, you must know it — that the Founder of 
the Christian religion bequeathed to his disciples 
and followers, not his coat, but his Spirit? His coat, 
Bishop Arnoldi of Treves, belongs to his execu- 
tioners ! Know you not — as bishop, you must know 
it — that Christ has taught, ' God is a Spirit, and he 
who worships him must worship him in spirit and 
in truth?' He can be adored, moreover, in all 
places ; not alone, surely, at the temple in Jerusa- 
lem, on Mount Gerizim, or yet at Treves, by the 
Holy Coat. Know you not — as bishop, you must 
know it — that the Gospel expressly forbids the ado- 
ration of every image — of every relic ? that the 
Christians of the apostolic age suffered neither 
image nor relic in their churches, though they 
could have had plenty of them? that the fathers 
of the first three centuries ridiculed the heathen 
on this account? It is said, for example (Div. 
Inst., ii., c. 2)i The images should, in fact, if they 
had life, rather worship the men by whom they 
have been made, not the reverse ('Nee intelligunt 
homines ineptissimi, quod si sentire simulacra et 
moveri possent, adoratura hominem fuissent, a quo 
sunt expolita'). Finally, know you not — as bishop, 
you must know this also — that the sound, vigorous 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 115 

spirit of the German people first suffered itself to 
be abased to the adoration of jrelics in the 13th 
and 14th centuries, through the influence of the 
Crusades, after the lofty idea of the Divinity which 
Christianity gives had been obscured among them 
by all kinds of fables and wondrous tales brought 
from the East"? Look you! Bishop Arnoldi of 
Treves ! this you know, and better, probably, than 
I can tell it to you ! You know, too, the conse- 
quences which the idolatrous veneration of relics 
and superstition have in general brought upon us, 
namely, the spiritual and bodily slavery of Ger- 
many ! and yet you set up your relic for public 
veneration ! Nevertheless, if possibly you did not 
know all this — if you only aimed at the welfare of 
Christianity in the exposition of the Treviran relic, 
you have yet thereby burdened your conscience 
with a double guilt, from which you cannot clear 
yourself. On the one hand, it is unpardonable in 
you, if a healing virtue really appertains to the fa- 
mous garment, that you have withheld it from the 
suffering human race till the year 1844. On the 
other hand, it is unpardonable that you have taken 
offering-money from the hundred thousands of pil- 
grims. Or, at any rate, is it not unpardonable that 
you, as bishop, accept money from the hungry pov- 
erty of our people, especially after you have seen, 
but a few weeks since, want drive hundreds into 
rebellion and a death of despair] As for the rest, 
suffer not yourself to be deceived by the concourse 
of hundred thousands ; and believe me, that while 
hundred thousands of Germans hurry to Treves, 



116 A FILGKIMAGE TU TREVES. 

in the fulness of their zeal, millions are, like my- 
self, filled with deep abhorrence and bitter indig- 
nation at your unworthy spectacle. This indigna- 
tion prevails, not merely in this or the other rank 
of society, in this or that party, but in every rank, 
yes ! even among the Catholic priesthood. Jus- 
tice, therefore, will overtake you sooner than you 
suppose. Already does the historian grasp the pen, 
and hand over your name, Arnoldi, to the scorn of 
the present and succeeding ages, and brand you 
as the Tetzel of the nineteenth century. 

" But you, my German fellow-countrymen ! whe- 
ther you live near Treves or far from it, strain 
every nerve that such a disgrace be no longer af- 
fixed to the German name. Ye have city-dele- 
gates, heads of communes ; ye have deputies of 
provinces and of circles ; onward ! work through 
them ! Let each one do his best, once for all, to 
meet and give a decisive check to the mighty tyr- 
anny of the Roman hierarchy. For not only at 
Treves- is this modern sale of indulgences earned 
on ; ye know it well ! to the east and to the west, 
to the north and to the south, bead-money, mass- 
money, absolution-money, burial-money, and the 
like are collected ; and the spiritual night grows 
ever darker. Go ye all to the work, whether Cath- 
olics or Protestants ; it concerns our honour, our 
freedom, our happiness. Offend not the manes of 
your fathers who shattered the Capitol, while you 
suffer the Engelsburg* in Germany. Dishonour 

* Engelsburg appears to be a German translation of " Castello 
di S. Angelo," the papal fortress in Rome. 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 117 

not the laurel crowns of Huss, of Hutten, of Lu- 
ther ! Clothe your thoughts in^ words, and give 
your will effect ! 

"Finally, my colleagues, ye who desire and 
strive after the good of your flocks — the honour, 
the freedom, the happiness of your German nation, 
be silent no longer ! for ye sin against Religion, 
against the father-land, against your calling, while 
you longer hold your peace, and while you longer 
tarry. To quicken your better convictions, I have 
already addressed a word to you ; therefore, at 
present, only these few lines. Show yourselves 
true followers of Him who offered up all for Truth, 
for Light, and Freedom ! Show that you have in- 
erited his Spirit, not his Coat !" 



118 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 



CHAPTER X. 

Codex Aureus. — Liebfrauenkirche. — Roman Monuments of Treves. 
— Porta Nigra. — Amphitheatre. — Roman Baths. — Palace of 
Constantine. 

Most of the pilgrims spent but a single day in 
Treves. During the time that I remained in the 
city, I observed among them no disorders of any 
kind — no fighting, drunkenness, or tumult. After 
they had visited the Cathedral and the relic, they 
generally broke into small parties, and roamed 
about the city, gazing with simple wonder on the 
splendour of the churches, or the dilapidated 
wrecks of Roman art. Some found their way into 
the public library, where it was amusing to see 
them examining the old books and manuscripts. 
Among these is the celebrated Codex Aureus, a 
copy of the four Gospels, written on parchment in 
letters of gold, made by command of Ada, "hand- 
maid of Christ, and sister of Charlemagne," and 
presented by her to the Abbey of St. Maximin in 
Treves. The covers are adorned with precious 
stones, and in the centre of one of them is an an- 
tique cameo, on which are engraved five heads, 
representing, according to some, Augustus, accord- 
ing to others, Grermanicus, with their respective 
families. 

Of the churches of Treves, that called Liebfrau- 
enkirche, or Notre Dame, is the most beautiful, 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 119 

and is also one of the most elegant in existence. 
It is situated close by the side o£the Cathedral, to 
which it is connected by a cloister, lately restored. 
I have no words to describe the admirable harmo- 
ny, the noble simplicity which reign through every 
portion of this edifice ; the ingenuity of its plan, in 
which a rotunda and a cross are most skilfully 
combined, or the perfect taste with which all the 
minor ornaments have been designed and execu- 
ted. It dates (1227-1243) from the earliest peri- 
od of the pointed style. The interior is supported 
by twelve columns, on which are painted the twelve 
apostles, who can be seen all at once from a par- 
ticular spot, indicated by a square of blue marble 
let into the pavement. This church contains the 
only good picture I saw at Treves, a martyrdom 
of Saint Sebastian, ascribed to Gavido Reni. 

The exterior of the Liebfrauenkirche is also 
highly curious. The principal entrance is rich 
with sculpture. On one side is seen a statue rep- 
resenting Judaism, under the form of a female, 
blindfold, and with a crown falling from her head. 
On the opposite side is Christianity, another female 
figure, of serene countenance, and wearing 1 a crown. 
Above the entrance is represented, in one small 
semicircular space, the angels announcing the Na- 
tivity to the Shepherds, the Adoration of the Magi, 
Simeon in the Temple, bearing the infant Jesus 
upon his arms, and the Massacre of the Innocents, 
surrounded by a border of foliage, and five rows 
of figures, one within another, angels, personages 



120 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

with crowns, and others holding musical instru 
ments and books, the meaning of all which it is 
not easy to comprehend : they are said to picture 
the Church. The Annunciation is also represented 
by a figure of the Virgin, standing on one side of 
the great window above the portal, in an attitude 
of respectful attention, while on the opposite side 
is seen the angel Gabriel, holding a scroll in his 
hand, from which he appears to be delivering his 
address, like a modern orator. The gable in which 
the whole front terminates is completely filled by 
an image of the crucified Saviour, with the Virgin 
on one side, and Saint John on the other. 

The Roman monuments of Treves have been 
often described, but their interesting character 
may excuse a few words with regard to them. 
When Caesar arrived in this part of Gaul, he found 
Treves the capital of the Treviri, then a powerful 
nation of Germanic origin. The city must, even 
at that time, if we may believe its inhabitants, have 
dated from a remote antiquity; for a conspicuous 
inscription on the old town-hall, now degraded 
to an inn, informs the stranger that Treves stood 
one thousand three hundred years before Rome, 
adding the pious aspiration that she may yet stand 
firm and enjoy eternal peace. 
ANTE ROMAM TREVIRIS STETIT ANNIS 

MILLE TRECENTIS. 
PERSTET ET STERNA PACE FRVATVR. 

AMEN. 
"Having fallen under the Roman domination, 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 121 

it received the name of " Augusta Trevirorum," 
and long enjoyed the highest prosperity. "We are 
told that it possessed a Capitol, a Forum, and a 
Palace of the Senate ; a Circus which equalled 
the Circus-Maximus at Rome, imperial palaces, 
triumphal arches, baths and aqueducts, temples 
and basilicas, with magnificent statues and pictures. 
Of its four gates, which fronted the four climates 
of the world, the northern one, called the Black 
Gate, or the^ Gate of Mars, alone remains ; a vast 
and admirable structure, in a remarkable state of 
preservation. Of the other buildings which adorn- 
ed the Roman city, are seen only detached and 
crumbling fragments, which can hardly be said to 
boast a name, so conflicting are the opinions of the 
learned with regard to them. Still, such as they 
are, they remain a proud inheritance for Treves, 
as memorials of the time when the favour of Rome, 
and the frequent residence of the emperors, made 
it "the richest, the happiest, the most glorious, the 
most distinguished, the greatest" of all the cities 
on this side the Alps. 

The Porta Nigra, or Black Gate, is unquestion- 
ably the most interesting of all the Roman monu- 
ments of Treves. This edifice, constructed of 
large blocks of stone, united together by iron and 
lead without the aid of cement, is a parallelogram 
of 115 feet in length and 91 in height. The stone 
has been of a grayish colour, but is now black- 
ened with years ; hence the name of the structure. 
Towards the city it presents a regular facade of 

L 



122 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

three stories, ornamented by as many ranges of 
attached columns of the Tuscan order. The cen- 
tral portion was originally lower than the sides, 
which were carried up to the height of another 
story, so as to form towers. Only one of these is 
perfect : the other has lost its highest story. On the 
opposite facade, which looks towards the country, 
these towers have a semicircular form. Each story 
is pierced by large arched windows, with the ex- 
ception of the lowest, which has no opening except 
two arched gates, side by side, in its centre. The 
columns which decorate the building are of massive 
but rude construction ; their capitals, in particular, 
are very roughly formed— indeed, with so little 
grace that it would seem probable that they had 
originally been covered with marble of finer work- 
manship. In spite of the want of finish which a 
minute examination detects, the general aspect of 
this monument, when viewed at a little distance, is 
in the highest degree imposing, and the solidity of 
its construction is admirable. This alone has ena- 
bled it to resist the effect of time and the violence 
of barbarians, who have clipped away the edges 
of the stones to extract the clamps by which they 
were held together. 

Different opinions have been entertained with 
regard to the original destination of this edifice. 
While some are content to call it one of the gates 
of the city, others maintain that it was a triumphal 
arch, and stood originally near the centre of Treves, 
grounding their opinion principally upon its form, 



V- 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 126' 

and the number of its windows, which seem to 
make it little adapted to the purpose of defence. 
This idea, however, seems to be sufficiently re- 
futed by the fact that Roman tombs have been 
found just outside the gate, showing the former 
existence of a cemetery, which was never suffered 
within the walls of a town. 

An equal variety of opinions exists with regard 
to the date of its erection. Some even attribute it 
to the ancient Treviri, and call it their Forum; but 
this is ascribing to that people a degree of profi- 
ciency in the arts which nothing warrants; and it 
is now generally considered as a Roman work, 
erected by Constantine the Great, who restored 
the fortifications after they had been ruined by the 
Franks. 

In the eleventh century one of the towers of the 
gate was inhabited by a Greek monk of Mount 
Sinai, named Simeon. The recluse and holy life 
he led there procured him, after his death, the 
honour of canonization, and the gate was convert- 
ed into a church, after having been enlarged by an 
addition upon one side, which still remains. 

The amphitheatre of Treves was of small size, 
compared with others whose ruins still exist. Its 
remains are also inconsiderable. The general plan 
can be easily traced, and the oval arena has been 
perfectly cleared to its original level. Of the seats 
which surrounded this space, no vestige remains, 
but the low wall which separated them from it still 
exists, with openings leading to dens, where, as is 



124 A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 

supposed, the wild beasts were confined. The 
whole amphitheatre was dug in the side of a hill, 
and its external walls, if it ever possessed any, 
have now entirely disappeared, but its two princi- 
pal entrances at the north and south still exist in 
part, nobly built with small square blocks of lime- 
stone. It was in this amphitheatre that Constan- 
tine exposed the prisoners he had taken from the 
Franks and Bructheri to be torn to pieces by wild 
beasts, and when these, sated with carnage, gave 
up the bloody work, compelled the unfortunate 
men to fight against each other as gladiators. . 

The ruins generally called "The Roman Baths" 
are not far from the amphitheatre, to which they 
are supposed to have been connected by a subter- 
ranean passage. The building is constructed of 
alternate layers of limestone blocks and tiles, and 
its plan consists of four vaulted semicircles united 
together, of which two are in good preservation. 
The arches of this building are formed of tiles 
alone.- The principal one served, until lately, as 
one of the city gates, and bore the name of Porta 
Alba, or White Gate, in opposition to the Porta 
Nigra, on the other side cf the city. 

Not far from the Baths stand the remains of a 
stupendous structure, whose original name and 
destination are uncertain, and likely to remain so, 
though it is generally called the " Palace of Con- 
stantine." It is entirely constructed of Roman 
tiles, 15 inches in length and breadth, and only an 
inch and a half in thickness, and presents a long 



A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES. 125 

and lofty wall terminating in a tower of a semicir- 
cular form. The slightest inspection shows that 
the windows by which it is now pierced are of 
very recent date, and that there existed originally 
only a series of wide and high arches, which have 
been afterward filled up with masonry. This 
Duilding is an enigma to antiquaries, some calling 
it the Palace of Constantine, while others are un- 
decided whether it be a hippodrome, a theatre, a 
basilica, or a portion of the contiguous baths. The 
best authorities are of opinion that in any case it 
could not have been a palace, or any other habita- 
tion, but was an edifice destined for some public 
assemblage, while the simple and massive style of 
its construction indicates a date anterior to the 
age of Constantine. The common .people give to 
the semicircular portion of it the name of Heiden- 
thurm, or Heathens' Tower. The whole pile 
forms at present the western side of the court of 
the former palace of the Electors of Treves, now 
converted into a barrack. 

Besides these ruins, many others have been 
found at Treves. Indeed, it is only necessary to 
turn up the ground to the depth of a few feet in 
almost any part of the city to meet with walls and 
foundations, mournful vestiges of the works of a 
great people, and relics of the time when the six 
most illustrious cities of the Roman Empire were 
•Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Carthage, Alex- 
andria, and TREVES. 



L 2 



APPENDIX. 



The following verses, the production of some Trevisan 
scholar, form ten chronodisticha. The Roman numbers 
contained in every two lines form, when added together, 
the date 1844. These chronodisticha are very often seen 
inscribed on buildings, to commemorate the date of their 
erection : 

Non parVos Tie VIrls popVLos ConCVrrere Cernls, 
QVI ChrlstI tVnICaM reLLIglone CoLVnt. 

HaC tVnICa f Veras VestltVs, Chrlste reDeMptor, 
QVaerens Vt serVes, ter-ple pastor, oVes. 

Testis Vt In Thabor ter-praestans Ista refVLsIt, 
MoX CanDore nIVIs CLaiior Ipsa fVIt 

IstIVs Vestls ContaCtV LangVIDa tetro 
SangVInls efFLVVIo foeMIna sana stetlt. 

HaC In Veste pIVs IesVs Constanter VblqVe 
DIspersIt Verbl seMIna sanCta sVI. 

Christ Vs Vt orabat Cons Veto trlstls In horto, 
GVttls haeC Vestls sangVInels MaDVIt. 

IsthaC InDVtVs LangVens post Verbera IesVs 
VltaLIs LIgnl ponDera DIra tVLIt. 

AspeCtV tVnICae ChrlstI qVI peCtore pVnCtl, 
IVngVnt et preCIbVs Laetltlae LaCryMas. 

HaC saLVatorls bene taCta Veste repente 
Aeger oVans sentlt DesVper aVXILIVM. 

QVae ChrlstI tVnICaM per te pla possIDet, VsqVe 
Grates Vrbs TreVIrls soLVet, HeLena, tlbl. 



128 APPENDIX. 



INSCRIPTION BEHIND THE GREAT ALTAR IN THE CATHE- 
DRAL CHURCH OF ST. AUBAIN AT NAMUR. 

D. 0. M. S. 

g er mo p r i n . Joan. Austriaco 

D. (SJ . V. Imp. filio post Mauros T. 

Betica rebellates subjugatos 

Turcaruq z max : classem apud 

Patras eo duce funditus fuga- 

tam deletamq z cu in Belgio 

Pro regem agent, in castris 

Bougianis cotinua febre in 

Ipso juvetutis flo : sublato 

Avuculo Amatiss. Alexander 

Farnesius Parmae Placentiaeq z 

Princeps i imperio successor 

ex madato D. Philippi Hisp. ac 

Indiar regis Potentiss. hanc 

Altaris tabula ccenotaphii 

loco poni curavit. 



1578. 



THE END. 



VALUABLE BOOKS OF TRAVEL 

IN PRESS OR JUST PUBLISHED 

BY HARPER & BROTHERS, 



N EW-YO R K, 



I. 

TRAVELS IN THE EAST. 

BY JOHN P. DURBIN, D.D., 

Author of " Observations in Europe," &c. 

[In press.] 

II. 

THE TRAVELS OF MARCO POLO. 

With Notes and Illustrations. 
BY HUGH MURRAY, ESQ. 

[In press.] 

III. 

VOYAGES ROUND THE WORLD, 

From the Death of Capt. Cook to the Present Time, &c. 
IV. 

STEPHENS' CENTRAL AMERICA. 

Comprising- interesting Sketches of the remarkable Ruins of that Country, 
2 vols. 8vo. Numerous Plates. 

V. 

STEPHENS' YUCATAN. 

Including copious Details and Illustrations of the Stupendous Architectural 
Relics of the Peninsula. 

2 vols. 8vo. 120 fine Engravings. 
VI. 

DR. FISK'S TRAVELS IN EUROPE. 

England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Italy, Switzerland, &c. 
With numerous Engraved Illustrations. 



2 VALUABLE BOOKS OF TRAVEL. 

VII. 

HUMBOLDT'S TRAVELS. 

Being a condensed Narrative of his Explorations in Central America, 

Asiatic Russia, &c. 

1 vol. 18mo. With Cuts. 

VIII. 

ROBERTS' COCHIN-CHINA, SI AM, &C. 

An Account of his Embassy to those Courts. 
1 vol. 8vo. 

IX. 

JACOBS' ADVENTURES IN THE PACIFIC. 

Comprising a Narrative of Scenes and Incidents in the Islands of the Aus- 
tralasian Seas, &c. 
1 vol. 12mo. Plates. 

X. 

DR. HUMPHREY'S TOUR 

In Great Britain, France, and Belgium, &c. 
2 vols. 12nio. 

XI. 

INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN GREECE, 

Turkey, Russia, Poland, &c. 

BY JOHN L. STEPHENS, ESQ. 

2 vols. 12mo. Plates. 

XII. 

STEPHENS' TRAVELS IN EGYPT, 

Arabia Petrae, and the Holy Land. 
2 vols. 12mo. Plates. 

XIII. 

RESEARCHES IN CAFFRARIA. 

Describing the Customs, Character, and Moral Condition of th« Tribes 

Inhabiting the Southern Portions of Africa. 

BY STEPHEN KAY. 

12mo. Plates. 

XIV. 

EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 

The Pacific and Indian Oceans Described, &c. 
BY J. N. REYNOLDS. 



VALUABLE BOOKS OF TRAVEL. 3 
XV. 

SANTA FE EXPEDjTION, 

Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, including Description of a 
Tour across the Prairies, &c. 

BY G. W. KENDALL. 

2 vols. 12mo. With Blustrations. 

XVI. 

NEW ORLEANS AS I FOUND IT. 

BY DIDIMUS. 
XVII. 

A PILGRIMAGE TO TREVES, 

Through the Valley of the Meuse and the Forest of Ardennes, in the Year 

1844. 

XVIII. 

DR. DURBIN'S OBSERVATIONS IN EUROPE, 

Principally in France and Germany, &c. 
2 vols. 12mo. With fine Plates. 

XIX. 

DR. MOTT'S TRAVELS IN THE EAST. 

1 vol. 8vo. 
XX. 

LETTERS FROM THE /EGEAN. 

BY JAMES EMERSON. 
XXI. 

DE KAY'S TURKEY. 

Containing Sketches of that Country. 
1 vol. 8vo. Plates. 

XXII. 

AMERICAN ADVENTURE 

By Land and Sea, including Remarkable Cases of Enterprise and Fortitude. 
BY E PES SARGEANT. 

XXIII. 

BUCKINGHAM'S AMERICA, 

Historical, Statistical, and Descriptive. 
2 vols. 8vo. Plates. 



4 VALUABLE BOOKS OF TRAVEL. 

XXIV. 

GLORY AND SHAME OF ENGLAND. 

BY C. E. LESTER. 
2 vols. Plates. 

XXV. 

RANDOM SHOTS AND SOUTHERN BREEZES, 

2 vols. 12mo. 
XXVI. 

MISS SEDGWICK'S LETTERS 

From Abroad to Kindred at Home. 
2 vols. 12mo. 

XXVII. 

MRS. HEIGHT'S LETTERS FROM THE OLD WORLD. 

2 vols. 12mo. 
XXVIII. 

OWEN'S VOYAGES TO THE AFRICAN COAST. 

2 vols. 12mo. 
XXIX. 

MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY. 

With a Description of Pitcairn's Island and its Inhabitants. 
XXX. 

PARRY'S VOYAGES TO THE POLAR SEAS. 

2 vols. 18mo. 
XXXI. 

LANDERS' TRAVELS TO THE NIGER. 

An Expedition to Trace its Source, with other Discoveries. 
2 vols. 18mo. 

XXXII. 

PYM'S ADVENTURES. 

Comprising Details of a Mutiny in the South Seas, &c. 
1 vol. 12mo. 



HH5 89 



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